Mass hysteria, also called collective hysteria or collective obsessional behavior, is the sociopsychological phenomenon of the manifestation of the same or similar hysterical symptoms by more than one person. A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when people believe they are suffering from a similar disease or ailment.^[1] The scope of social psychological research. ... For other uses, see Phenomena (disambiguation). ... Hysteria is a diagnostic label applied to a state of mind, one of unmanageable fear or emotional excesses. ... The term symptom (from the Greek meaning chance, mishap or casualty, itself derived from συμπιπτω meaning to fall upon or to happen to) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... This article is about the medical term. ...

Characteristics

British historian and Fortean researcher Mike Dash^[2] notes that studies have identified six elements that are required for a case of mass hysteria to afflict a population: Charles Fort, 1920 Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932), writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena, was the son of an Albany grocer of Dutch ancestry. ... Mike Dash (b. ...

1. "Regional conditions must be conducive" to the mass hysteria's plausibility.
2. "Channels of communication must be available for the reports to spread."
3. "Social and economic stress, as well as a lack of faith in the authorities,predispose people to embrace unconventional interpretations."
4. "[E]very culture has marginal traditions that offer alternative explanations."
5. "A triggering episode episode often serves as the pebble that commences an avalanche of reports."
6. "[O]utbreaks of unusual manifestations are aided by breakdowns in official control."

Mass hysteria typically begins when an individual becomes ill or hysterical during a period of stress.^[3] After this initial individual shows symptoms, others begin to manifest similar symptoms, typically nausea, muscle weakness fits or headache.^[4] For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... See also Muscle Atrophy Muscle weakness (or lack of strength) is a direct term for It is the inability to exert force with ones muscles to the degree that would be expected given the individuals general physical fitness. ... FITS or Flexible Image Transport System a digital file format used to store, transmit, and manipulate scientific and other images. ... A headache (cephalalgia in medical terminology) is a condition of pain in the head; sometimes neck or upper back pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ...

Sightings of religious miracles are often attributed to mass hysteria.^[5]

Cases of moral panic, such as Satanic Ritual Abuse scares, often have symptoms that overlap with mass hysteria.^{[citation needed]} A moral panic is a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. ... Satanism Associated organizations The Church of Satan First Satanic Church Prominent figures Anton LaVey | Blanche Barton | Peter H. Gilmore | Peggy Nadramia | Karla LaVey Associated concepts Left-Hand Path | Pentagonal Revisionism | Suitheism | Survival of the fittest | Might is Right Books and publications The Satanic Bible | The Satanic Rituals | The Satanic Witch...

Criticism

Dash writes that while mass hysteria is widely accepted as genuine, many important details of the phenomenon are of unknown etiology, and mass hysteria can often seek to "explain a mystery with a mystery. Much more work needs to be done on the causes and consequences of hysterical contagion before we can be certain what it is and why it occurs." Similarly, American paranormal and UFO researcher Jerome Clark^[6] argues that mass hysteria is often a flimsy post hoc explanation and "a classic blame-the-victim strategy" in cases where authorities or experts can find no explanation for puzzling or frightening events. This article is about the medical term. ... Jerome Clark (1946 - ) is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note. ... The West Wing, see Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (The West Wing). ... Victim-blaming consists of holding victims of crimes or other misfortunes wholly or partly responsible for what has happened to them. ...

References

See also

• Bandwagon effect
• Bacchanalia
• Bear market
• Collective consciousness
• Collective behavior
• Collective Effervescence
• Collective intelligence
• Conversion syndrome
• Craze
• Crowd psychology
• Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay
• Folie à deux
• Group behaviour
• Groupthink
• Herd behavior
• Herd instinct
• Hysteria
• London Monster
• The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
• Mean world syndrome
• Meme
• Mob mentality
• Mob rule
• Moral panic
• Morangos com Açúcar
• Morgellons
• New Delhi monkeyman
• Photosensitive epilepsy
• Penis panic
• Reign of Terror
• Sheeple
• Spring Heeled Jack
• Stampede
• Stock market bubble
• Stock market crash
• Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
• Witch-hunt

The bandwagon effect is the observation that people often do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. ... The Bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman god Bacchus. ... A bear market is a prolonged period of time when prices are falling in a financial market. ... The French social theorist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) used the term collective consciousness in his The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), Suicide (1897), and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912). ... The term collective behavior 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 (laws, conventions, and institutions), but which emerge in a spontaneous way. ... Collective effervescence (CE) is a perceived energy formed by a gathering of people as might be experienced at a sporting event, a carnival, or a riot. ... It has been suggested that symbiotic intelligence be merged into this article or section. ... Conversion syndrome describes a condition in which physical symptoms arise for which there is no clear explanation. ... Herd behaviour is the term used to describe situations in which the individuals of any particular group react coherently. ... Crowd psychology is a branch of social psychology. ... Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a popular history of popular folly by Charles Mackay, first published in 1841. ... Charles Mackay (1814 – 1889) was a British poet, journalist, and song writer. ... Folie à deux (literally, a madness shared by two) is a rare psychiatric syndrome in which a symptom of psychosis (particularly a paranoid or delusional belief) is transmitted from one individual to another. ... Group behaviour in sociology refers to the situations where large number of people in a given area behave simoultanesly in similar way and have a similar goal, but they individaully and without coordiantion. ... Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. ... It has been suggested that Herding instinct be merged into this article or section. ... The herding instinct in humans may have some connection with group behaviours in other animals The so-called herding instinct is a social tendency in humans to identify with and model many behaviors and beliefs after a larger group of individuals with whom they identify. ... Hysteria is a diagnostic label applied to a state of mind, one of unmanageable fear or emotional excesses. ... The London monster was a criminal who attacked women in London in 1788-1790. ... Daily Journal-Gazette (Mattoon), September 2, 1944 The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (also known as The Anesthetic Prowler, The Mad Anesthetist, and The Phantom Anesthetist, The Mad Gasser of Roanoke, or simply Mad Gasser) was the name given to the person or persons believed to be behind a series of... Mean World Syndrome is described as the distinguishing characteristic of Media Induced Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (MIPTSD). ... For other uses, see Meme (disambiguation). ... A hive mind (sometimes spelled hivemind) is a form of collective consciousness strongly exhibiting traits of conformity and groupthink. ... Ochlocracy (Greek: οχλοκρατια; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a disorganized mass of people. ... A moral panic is a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. ... Morangos com Açúcar (Strawberries With Sugar, distributed internationally as Sweet Strawberries) is a Portuguese youth soap opera. ... Morgellons (also called Morgellons disease or Morgellons syndrome) is a name given in 2002 by biologist Mary Leitao to a condition characterized by a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms. ... Police artists impression of the Monkey Man of New Delhi The Monkey Man of New Delhi was a phenomenon that surfaced in New Delhi in 2001. ... Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by visual stimuli that form patterns in time or space, such as flashing lights, bold, regular patterns, or regular moving patterns. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Doctor Who British TV serial, see The Reign of Terror (Doctor Who). ... Sheeple is a term of disparagement, a portmanteau created by combining the words sheep and people; a reference to herd mentality. ... For other uses, see Spring Heeled Jack (disambiguation). ... A stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals or a crowd of people in which the herd (or crowd) collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose. ... A stock market bubble is a type of economic bubble taking place in stock markets when price of stocks rise and become overvalued by any measure of stock valuation. ... Black Monday (1987) on the Dow Jones Industrial Average A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ...

External links

• "Mass Hysteria." SelfhelpMagazine.com November 3, 2000.
• Mass hysteria hits Malaysian school
• Six hundered girls in Mexico suffer from collective hysteria