McGrath, reviewing cases of mass hysteria, found that persons of low status in high stress situations after a triggering dramatic event are most responsive to mass psychogenic illness. Kerckhoff analyzed the case of sickness that spread among workers of a plant due to the belief in a poisonous insect. While there is-to our knowledge-no literature on the political economy of mass hysteria, the literature on mass psychogenic illness is rich and focuses on empirical analyses of specific cases. In order to prevent the repetition of such policy errors, one should be aware of the political economy of mass hysteria developed in this article. We conclude that collective hysteria may have contributed to policy errors during the COVID-19 pandemic that were detrimental to public health. Moreover, in the same section, we show that these limiting mechanisms not only are disturbed by state action, but also examine the reasons why the state is likely to foster mass hysteria.
#MASS HYSTERIA THROUGH THE AGES FREE#
In the discussion section, we analyze the factors that limit and reduce mass hysteria in a free market setting. In the following section, we present the importance of nocebo effects, explain how a mass hysteria evolves, and analyze how negative information and anxiety contagion can contribute to mass hysteria in the information age. In this context, we also review the literature, theoretical and empirical, on mass psychogenic illness. In the second section, we present a short history of mass hysteria. Building on the psychology related to the phenomenon of mass hysteria, we develop a political economy of mass hysteria deriving important insights from a public health perspective. The interplay of media, science, politics, and public is a real research gap. However, to our knowledge, there has been no study that analyzes how different political institutions and the state affect the development and extension of mass hysteria.
There are also studies that examine the contribution of digital media and the internet to anxiety, emotional contagion, anxiety transmissions, and nocebo effects. As a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis, there have been several studies examining the adverse psychological effects of state-imposed lockdowns. There have been many illuminating studies on psychological issues related to the phenomena of mass hysteria. By developing a political economy of mass hysteria, we fill an apparent gap in the literature. We analyze how the modern state influences the development and extension of mass hysteria, arguing that the state exacerbates this phenomenon with adverse consequences for public health. In this article, we question this narrative in relation to the phenomenon of mass hysteria. It is supposed that the state positively contributes to public health. Indeed, it is generally taken for granted that one main purpose of the modern welfare state is to improve public health. Public healthcare systems form a vital part of the welfare state. We conclude that the negative long-term effects of mass hysteria are exacerbated by the size of the state. However, mass hysteria can be exacerbated and self-reinforcing when the negative information comes from an authoritative source, when the media are politicized, and social networks make the negative information omnipresent. While mass hysteria can occur in societies with a minimal state, we show that there exist certain self-corrective mechanisms and limits to the harm inflicted, such as sacrosanct private property rights. The resulting collective hysteria may have contributed to policy errors by governments not in line with health recommendations. We argue that mass and digital media in connection with the state may have had adverse consequences during the COVID-19 crisis.
Negative information which is spread through mass media repetitively can affect public health negatively in the form of nocebo effects and mass hysteria. Using the background of COVID-19, we study past mass hysteria. In this article, we aim to develop a political economy of mass hysteria.
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