Collective hysteria
Encyclopedia
Mass hysteria—other names include collective hysteria, group hysteria, or collective obsessional behavior—is the manifestation of the same or similar hysterical
symptom
s by more than one person. A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believe they are suffering from a similar disease
or ailment. sometimes referred to as Mass Psychogenic Illness
or epidemic hysteria.
or epidemic hysteria. Mass hysteria typically begins when an individual becomes ill or hysterical during a period of stress. After this initial individual shows symptoms, others begin to manifest similar symptoms, typically nausea
, muscle weakness
, fits
or headache
.
Sightings of modern religious miracle
s are often attributed to mass hysteria.
In 2008 in Tanzania
, about 20 female school pupils began to faint in a schoolroom, collapsing to the floor and losing consciousness, while others after witnessing this sobbed, yelled and ran around the school. A local education officer was quoted in news reports saying that such events are "very common here".
In 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas
, 34 people were sent to the hospital after they complained about having symptoms when they mistakenly thought they had been exposed to carbon monoxide
.
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
symptom
Symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality...
s by more than one person. A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believe they are suffering from a similar disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
or ailment. sometimes referred to as Mass Psychogenic Illness
Mass Psychogenic Illness
Mass psychogenic illness , also called mass sociogenic illness, is “the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are...
or epidemic hysteria.
Characteristics
Mass hysteria presenting as collective symptoms of disease is sometimes referred to as Mass Psychogenic IllnessMass Psychogenic Illness
Mass psychogenic illness , also called mass sociogenic illness, is “the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are...
or epidemic hysteria. Mass hysteria typically begins when an individual becomes ill or hysterical during a period of stress. After this initial individual shows symptoms, others begin to manifest similar symptoms, typically nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
, muscle weakness
Muscle weakness
Muscle weakness or myasthenia is a lack of muscle strength. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness...
, fits
Convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...
or headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
.
Sightings of modern religious miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s are often attributed to mass hysteria.
Specific examples
In 2007 near Chalco, a working-class suburb of Mexico City, mass hysteria resulted in a massive outbreak of unusual symptoms suffered by adolescent female students at Children's Village School, a Catholic boarding-school. The afflicted students had difficulty walking and were feverish and nauseated.In 2008 in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, about 20 female school pupils began to faint in a schoolroom, collapsing to the floor and losing consciousness, while others after witnessing this sobbed, yelled and ran around the school. A local education officer was quoted in news reports saying that such events are "very common here".
In 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, 34 people were sent to the hospital after they complained about having symptoms when they mistakenly thought they had been exposed to carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
.
See also
- Bandwagon effectBandwagon effectThe bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
- Collective behaviorCollective behaviorThe expression collective behaviour was first used by Robert E. Park, and employed definitively by Herbert Blumer, to refer to social processes and events which do not reflect existing social structure , but which emerge in a "spontaneous" way.Collective behavior might also be defined as action...
- Collective effervescenceCollective EffervescenceCollective effervescence is a perceived energy formed by a gathering of people as might be experienced at a sporting event, a carnival, a rave, or a riot...
- Conversion syndromeConversion syndromeConversion syndrome describes a condition in which physical symptoms arise for which there is no clear explanation. The term stems from the 19th century European conception of hysteria, which itself can be traced back to Ancient Egyptian papyri from the 16th century BC...
- Crowd psychologyCrowd psychologyCrowd psychology is a branch of social psychology. Ordinary people can typically gain direct power by acting collectively. Historically, because large groups of people have been able to bring about dramatic and sudden social change in a manner that bypasses established due process, they have also...
- Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of CrowdsExtraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of CrowdsExtraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay, first published in 1841. The book chronicles its subjects in three parts: "National Delusions", "Peculiar Follies", and "Philosophical Delusions"...
by Charles MackayCharles MackayCharles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, and song writer.-Life:Charles Mackay was born in Perth, Scotland. His father was by turns a naval officer and a foot soldier; his mother died shortly after his birth. Charles was educated at the Caledonian Asylum, London, and at Brussels, but spent... - Folie à deuxFolie à deux-Further reading:*Halgin, R. & Whitbourne, S. Abnormal Psychology: Clinical Perspectives on Psychological Disorders. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0072817216...
- Group behaviourGroup behaviourGroup behaviour in sociology refers to the situations where people interact in large or small groups. The field of group dynamics deals with small groups that may reach consensus and act in a coordinated way...
- Herd behaviorHerd behaviorHerd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks and schools, and to human conduct during activities such as stock market bubbles and crashes, street demonstrations, sporting events,...
- Hysterical contagionHysterical contagionHysterical contagion occurs when a group of people show signs of a physical problem or illness, when in reality there are psychological and social forces at work....
- Mean world syndromeMean World Syndrome"Mean world syndrome" is a term coined by George Gerbner to describe a phenomenon whereby violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe that the world is more dangerous than it actually is. Mean world syndrome is one of the main conclusions of cultivation theory...
- Moral panicMoral panicA moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
- Witch-huntWitch-huntA witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
- Dancing maniaDancing maniaDancing mania was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people, sometimes thousands at a time, who danced uncontrollably and bizarrely...
(e.g. Dancing Plague of 1518Dancing Plague of 1518The Dancing Plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, France in July 1518...
) - Dennō Senshi Porygon
- Fan deathFan deathFan death is a widely held belief prevailing in South Korea that an electric fan left running overnight in a closed room can cause the death of those inside...
- The Gorbals VampireGorbals Southern NecropolisThe Southern Necropolis is a cemetery in the Gorbals district of southern Glasgow, Scotland. It was opened in the year 1840 to provide an affordable and respectable place of burial for the people of Gorbals and the surrounding areas of the city of Glasgow...
- Halifax Slasher
- London MonsterLondon MonsterThe London Monster was the name given to an alleged attacker of women in London between 1788 and 1790.First reports of the Monster appeared in 1788. According to the victims , a large man had followed them, shouted obscenities and stabbed them in the buttocks. Some reports claimed an attacker had...
- Mad Gasser of Mattoon
- Morangos com Açúcar
- New Delhi monkeyman
- Penis panic
- Religious paranoiaReligious paranoiaReligious paranoia is a condition which has been compared to extremism and intolerance. It has been cited as a possible contributor to political violence...
- Salem witch trialsSalem witch trialsThe Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
- Satanic Ritual AbuseSatanic ritual abuseSatanic ritual abuse refers to the abuse of a person or animal in a ritual setting or manner...
- Spring Heeled JackSpring Heeled JackSpring-heeled Jack is a character in English folklore of the Victorian era who was known for his startling jumps. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over England and were especially prevalent in suburban London, the Midlands and...
- Tanganyika Laughter EpidemicTanganyika Laughter EpidemicThe Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962 was an outbreak of mass hysteria, or Mass Psychogenic Illness , rumored to have occurred in or near the village of Kashasha on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania near the border of Kenya.-The incident:The laughter epidemic...
- The War of The WorldsThe War of the Worlds (radio)The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
, a radio broadcast that allegedly caused mass hysteria - Villejuif leafletVillejuif leafletThe Villejuif leaflet , also known as the Villejuif flyer and the Villejuif list, was a pamphlet which enjoyed wide distribution. The leaflet listed a number of safe food additives with their E numbers as alleged carcinogens. The leaflet caused mass panic in Europe in the late 1970s and 1980s...
, mass panic after false rumours of carcinogens in common foods - Day care sex abuse hysteria
- Seattle Windshield Pitting EpidemicSeattle Windshield Pitting EpidemicThe Seattle Windshield Pitting Epidemic is a phenomenon which affected Bellingham, Seattle, USA, and other Washington communities in April, 1954; it is considered an example of a mass delusion. It was characterized by widespread observation of previously unnoticed windshield holes, pits and dings,...