Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself

Attributions of panic are almost exclusively directed at members of the general public. Here, we inquire into the relationships between elites and panic. We review current research and theorizing about panic, including problems of identifying when it has occurred. We propose three relationships: eli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social forces 2008-12, Vol.87 (2), p.993-1014
Main Authors: Clarke, Lee, Chess, Caron
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthrax
Attachment behavior
Attribution Theory
Behavioral Science Research
Biological & chemical terrorism
Cartoons
Causes of
Chemical weapons
Cultural Influences
Disasters
Disasters in the Twenty-First Century: Modern Destruction and Future Instruction
Elite (Social sciences)
Elites
Epidemiology
Fear
Fear & phobias
General public
Group Behavior
Hurricanes
Immunization
Knowledge Level
Locus of Control
Middle Class
Middle Class Culture
Oil spills
Panic
Police
Political power
Psychological aspects
Psychological Patterns
Public health
Self Concept
Social aspects
Social Science Research
Sociological research
Sociology
Stadiums
Terrorism
Tierney, Kathleen
United States
United States of America
Utility theory
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Description
Summary:Attributions of panic are almost exclusively directed at members of the general public. Here, we inquire into the relationships between elites and panic. We review current research and theorizing about panic, including problems of identifying when it has occurred. We propose three relationships: elites fearing panic, elites causing panic and elites panicking. We use numerous examples, including our own research on the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, to illustrate how these relationships operate. The argument is evocative, not definitive. However, the conceptual utility of explicitly theorizing the relationships between elites and panic shows, among other things, how power works in disasters.
ISSN:0037-7732
1534-7605
DOI:10.1353/sof.0.0155