Page "Stanley Cohen (sociologist)" Paragraph 2

A leading writer on Criminology and Sociology, Cohen is credited with coining the term moral panic in his 1972 study ( Folk Devils and Moral Panics ) of the popular UK media and social reaction to the Mods and Rockers phenomenon of the 1960s.

This book is widely regarded by British criminologists as the most influential work in the field in the last forty years.

The work applied the concepts of labelling, societal reaction and the Deviancy Amplification Spiral and helped in widening the scope of Criminology to include the sociology of crime and Social Control.

Cohen suggests the media overreact to an aspect of behaviour which may be seen as a challenge to existing social norms.

However, the media response and representation of that behaviour actually helps to define it, communicate it and portrays it as a model for outsiders to observe and adopt.

So the moral panic by society represented in the media arguably fuels further socially unacceptable behaviour.