TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1954//
TI  - The Nature and Conditions of Panic
JO  - American journal of sociology
A1  - Quarantelli, E. L.
SP  - 267
EP  - 275
VL  - 60
IS  - 3
N2  - Current conceptions of the nature and conditions of panic are inadequate and lack an empirical basis. Using data gathered by the Disaster Team of the National Opinion Research Center and other documentary sources, a comparative and analytical examination of specific instances of the behavior is made. A conception is developed of panic as the very antithesis of organized group activity--as an acute fear reaction marked by loss of self-control which is followed by nonsocial and non-rational flight. Such behavior arises upon a definition of possible entrapment, a perception of collective powerlessness, and a feeling of individual isolation in a crisis.<p />
LA  - 
SN  - 0002-9602
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/221536
ID  - ref1
ER  -