Mass hysteria

Before the advancement of technology, psychological disorders such as Mass Hysteria was looked at as an enigma. Some people associated the symptoms with black magic, as it was a psychogenic illness which they had no explanation for. It is caused by extreme levels of stress and anxiety. Symptoms of Mass Hysteria are more commonly seen in women. The history of Mass Hysteria goes back to the middle ages. It was firstly thought of to be caused by a natural disease. Later on in the colonies, people with this illness were said to be possessed, which lead to Salem Witch Trials Mass Hysteria is a conversion disorder where individuals that have an excessive level of anxiety express their condition with physical symptoms. There are two classifications of this disorder which are mass anxiety…

Understanding Mass Hysteria and its Fundamental Characteristics The power of mass hysteria is so dangerous that it can create both physical and psychological situations that can take lives, change global politics and cause panic in hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Mass hysteria is when emotions, especially fear in a group of people are so strong that it leads people to act in an uncontrolled way. Some examples of mass hysteria are the Salem witch trials, the fear experienced by…

Mass hysteria has the potential to tear a community apart as demonstrated in The Crucible. What is hysteria? “It is defined as an overwhelming fear and excitement that overrides all logic, and is often enhanced and intensified by the presence of others who are acting out on that fear” (Campbell). That theme is common throughout the play written by Arthur Miller. From the beginning, where the witchery begins to John Proctor getting hung, the little town of Salem undergoes major changes. That is…

Mass Hysteria Mass hysteria is caused by fear. Where this fear comes from may vary, and could even be caused by many forms of fear put together. A country having fear, not just fear as a whole, but fear that separates the people within, is exactly what happened in the United states prior to the civil rights movement. This goes clear back to the end of the civil war, when the segregation of the blacks and whites began. Before the civil rights movement, mass hysteria was caused in the United…

The Crucible Essay Test If any one theme reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials, it has to be “mass hysteria”. The idea of a group of people who are paranoid and accuse others with little to no basis. this almost perfectly describes the state of Russia back when Stalin ruled. This is because stalin was paranoid of enemy spies learning about his plans. Reasons for why Russia is a perfect example of an event similar to the salem witch trials are abundant. When stalin was in power he was…

The Salem Witch Trials were a bad time in the history of the United States; around 200 people were accused of witchcraft. More than 20 were executed. Men and women were hung, crushed, or left to rot in prison. Some were not executed, but their lives were forever changed. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony where there was strong belief in the devil, there was a smallpox epidemic and the threat of warring tribes. The stress of the people created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. After a short…

In the “Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, an important motif that has developed within the play is witchcraft. This motif of witchcraft builds up to the overall theme of mass hysteria, and how it leads society to use it for their personal gain and to spread fear. The developed theme of hysteria from this ideology of witchcraft has turned Salem and its people into chaos. An important character within the book, Abigail, however is the cause of this chaos. Her hysterical fear becomes means of…

similar to The Red Scare, an era of mass hysteria in which people became obsessed and paranoid over communism in the United States. In The Crucible, people were being accused of witchcraft, and during the Red Scare people were being accused of communism. In both, people who were a victim of any of these false accusations…

By most historians the Salem Witch Trails were a product of mass hysteria; it all fueled by hearsay and distorted stories – even out of mere dislike of a neighbor. The Puritans, who had left England for religious freedom, noticed more and more individualism of the people of Salem and felt a loss of control of them. They used this hysteria, to try and bring them back to the church, but people even became weary of church members and suspected them of witchcraft. The extremely religious community,…

The history of mankind has brought about many instances where there have been episodes of mass hysteria. Although history is taught so that we may learn from past mistakes, there is still a tendency for it to repeat itself. Epidemics of false accusations and innocent executions seem all too familiar in the study of humankind. In the late 1600s, several small Massachusetts towns had executed many of their citizens under the false pretense that they had been practicing witchcraft. There was a…