What is mass hysteria? The phenomenon; when people start fearing pretended threat and start believing in fake rumors and news of threats; that could harm them, is called mass hysteria. The folk tale Henny penny also called Chicken Little, is the best example of mass hysteria. In this tale the chicken starts believing that, the world is going to end in near future. He runs around shouting that, the world is going to end soon, as a result Chicken Little creates fear in people of assumed threat. Mass hysteria symptoms are seeing the objects which are not there and feeling uncomfortable in a relaxed environment. For instance, once a high school teacher reported smell of gasoline in her class room on the same day students reported dizziness, nausea and headache. School was evacuated assuming a gas leak, student were examined by the medical professionals. However, Students were tested healthy and there was no gas leak in the school. At the end the situation was considered as just an instance of mass hysteria.
What is moral panic? When a large number of people fear and threatened by, an organization or, an ideology or, technology or, media which may or may not affect their social norms and values the phenomenon is known as moral panic. For instance, Conservative families may be threatened from the media culture, and may fear for their children; for the reason that, they could learn and adopt media culture; if they spend more time watching Television shows and movies. Moreover, women rights movements may create moral panic in radical and conservative groups, because the rights which are demanded in those movements are, in conflict with the norms and values of conservative groups. The movements might be considered as threat to the societal norms and values of conservative society.