the myth of "moral panic": an alternative account of LSD prohibition
Deviant Behavior July 1, 2002 Benjamin Cornwell, Annulla Linders 67 citations
The authors challenge the concept of moral panic and propose an alternative model for understanding how deviance is constructed in public discourse, using the prohibition of LSD as an example. Drawing on research about collective behavior and how people respond to disasters, they argue that when faced with ambiguous social threats, people seek to clarify conflicting information by affiliating with others. This interpretive process resembles how social movements develop frames that prepare participants for action. Whether something becomes labeled as deviant depends on active social construction by various actors, not just reactive panic. The mass media plays a key role in selecting and disseminating information, fueling interpretive ambiguities and conflicts around potential moral threats.