Orson Wells’ famous “War of the Worlds” broadcast is one of the most well known examples of mass panic in America
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/war-worlds-75th-anniversary-gallery-1.1500528?pmSlide=1.1500517
1998. In a school in McMinnville, TN, a teacher reported smelling gasoline and began to develop nausea, dizziness, and a headache. The school was evacuated, but students and staff began to complain of similar symptoms. They were loaded into ambulances, but once they arrived to the hospital most symptoms had disappeared (though 37 were admitted to the hospital, with doctors ultimately not finding any physical cause of their symptoms). After the school had been inspected and cleared by the local fire departments and OSHA, it reopened about a week after the incident. That day, 71 more people were sent to the hospital, complaining of the same symptoms (to which doctors still did not find an organic cause).
Some statistics from the reports done afterward:
186 students and staff were reported sick. Of those 186…
-25% reported a fever (only one actually had one, 100 degrees)
-65% reported a strange odor, described by over 30 words such as “burning”, “sweet”, and “sewer gas”
-69% were female, 31% were male
The feelings that these people experienced–dizziness, nausea, headaches–were likely real (that is, they weren’t lying to just get attention), but there was no mysterious gas. This is a classic example of of mass epidemic hysteria, and similar cases have been reported throughout history and the world. Are these just anecdotes? Possibly. But the related concept of “crowd” or “herd” mentality have been extensively studied by psychologists (and has a particular importance in the field of behavioral economics). Jens Krause of the University of Leeds conducted a series of experiments in which groups of people were asked to walk down a hall, with some people in the group secretly given more detailed information about where to walk. They were not allowed to communicate. He found that in all cases, the more informed participants were followed by the others. Says Krause, “We’ve all been in situations where we get swept along by the crowd, but what’s interesting about this research is that our participants ended up making a consensus decision despite the fact that they weren’t allowed to talk or gesture to one another. In most cases the participants didn’t realize they were being led by others.”
Few studies have looked at the possible precipitating factors behind mass contagion panic, but Leslie P. Boss in a review of Epidemic Hysteria speculates that causes could be “boredom, poor communication, production pressures, and physical stressors”. There is still more research to be done.
Cases of mass hysteria are not especially common, but due to increased technology and thus greater connectivity to what’s going on in the world, it could prove to be an issue.In the wake ofdomestic terrorist attacks, people are more likely to react with physical symptoms in response to finding white powder in envelopes or smelling a mysterious odor on public transportation. . Often, people are torn between following their gut instincts and the possibility that they’ve been exposed to ___ –but current events on their minds can help the remote possibility win out. Even if you’ve never experienced this phenomenon, think about it on a smaller scale: you’ve probably heard that WebMD is notorious for causing self-diagnosis and false panic in people who attempt to find out what’s wrong with them. When an idea is planted, it’s often hard to unroot, especially when it comes to your personal safety.