Mass hysteria
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Mass hysteria, also called collective hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, 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 a group of people believe they are suffering from a similar disease or ailment.^[1]

Characteristics

Mass hysteria typically begins when an individual becomes ill or hysterical during a period of stress.^[2] After this initial individual shows symptoms, others begin to manifest similar symptoms, typically nausea, muscle weakness, fits or headache.^[3]

Sightings of religious miracles are often attributed to mass hysteria.^[4]

Cases of moral panic often have symptoms that overlap with mass hysteria.^{citation needed}

Criticism

American paranormal and UFO researcher Jerome Clark^[5] 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.

Two notable cases where mass hysteria was controversially claimed as the cause of an incident are the toxic lady event and the 2007 Peruvian meteorite event.

Popular culture

In the 18th episode of House season 3, a mass hysteria, triggered by the symptoms of a sick passenger, took place on an airplane. The six elements required to set off a mass hysteria can be observed in the episode.^{citation needed}

References

See also

• Bandwagon effect
• Collective behavior
• Collective effervescence
• Conversion syndrome
• Crowd psychology
• Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay
• Folie à deux
• Group behaviour
• Herd behavior
• Mean world syndrome
• Moral panic
• Witch-hunt

Specific examples

• Dancing mania (e.g. Dancing Plague of 1518)
• Fan death
• London Monster
• The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
• Morangos com Açúcar
• New Delhi monkeyman
• Penis panic
• Spring Heeled Jack
• Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic

External links

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