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
people believe they are suffering from a similar disease or ailment.
Characteristics
British historian and Fortean researcher Mike Dash notes that studies
have identified six
elements that are required for a case of mass
hysteria to afflict a population:
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. "Every culture has marginal traditions that offer alternative
explanations."
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.
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.
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.
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