<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A Psychological take on the great Hallowe'en "Boo" of 1938
Review: On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater on the Air dramatized H.G. Wells' science fiction fantasy "War of the Worlds." The dramatization was written as a series of news broadcasts and was realistic enough that at least a million Americans believed it was real and thousands were panic-stricken. "The Invasion From Mars" was first published in 1940 and took advantage of this infamous episode of American popular culture as a rare opportunity for the social scientist to study mass behavior. Cantril's goal was to provide "insight into the psychology fo the common man and, more especially, the psychology of the man of our times." We must remember that in the fall of 1938 Hitler had already plunged Europe into war and Americans, recalling how they had fought the war to end all wars just a generation earlier, must have been nervous about what was to come. "The Invasion From Mars" includes the complete script of the Orson Welles Broadcast, freely adapted by Howard Koch from Wells novel. Chapters are then devoted to describing the nature and extent of the panic (who was listening and how they responded), how the stimulus was experienced (how the program was realistic and the effect on those tuning in late), and descriptions of reactions (relating behavior and feelings) before attempting to judge the critical ability of the listeners (with education being the key variable) as well as conditions inhibiting critical ability. After examining the historical context of the broadcast, Cantril relates a series of six sample stories of two well educated people, two economically insecure people, and two religious people. In each pair, one person was frightened and the other was not. After evidencing that there are enormous individual differences within each of these categories, Cantril concludes the volume by attempting to offer his studied explanation for the panic. Republished in 1966 and more recently in 1982, "The Invasion Mars" might be somewhat outdated as "A Study in the Psychology of Panic," but it does provide a record of what the people caught up in the panic did that night and how they sought to explain their actions afterwards. In that regard it remains a fascinating piece of history. Even if you are not interested in going over the charts and graphs breaking down behavioral and attitudinal responses, you will find the anecdotes interesting. This study reflected a time in the social sciences when the "hypodermic needle"/stimulus-response model was being replaced by the idea that individual human beings mediated experiences in different ways (i.e., the "black box" of the human mind). However, I am sure the reason this book reappears in print from time to time has to do more with its infamous subject matter than its reflecting of a changing trend in the social sciences.
Rating:
Summary: A Psychological take on the great Hallowe'en "Boo" of 1938
Review: On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater on the Air dramatized H.G. Wells' science fiction fantasy "War of the Worlds." The dramatization was written as a series of news broadcasts and was realistic enough that at least a million Americans believed it was real and thousands were panic-stricken. "The Invasion From Mars" was first published in 1940 and took advantage of this infamous episode of American popular culture as a rare opportunity for the social scientist to study mass behavior. Cantril's goal was to provide "insight into the psychology fo the common man and, more especially, the psychology of the man of our times." We must remember that in the fall of 1938 Hitler had already plunged Europe into war and Americans, recalling how they had fought the war to end all wars just a generation earlier, must have been nervous about what was to come. "The Invasion From Mars" includes the complete script of the Orson Welles Broadcast, freely adapted by Howard Koch from Wells novel. Chapters are then devoted to describing the nature and extent of the panic (who was listening and how they responded), how the stimulus was experienced (how the program was realistic and the effect on those tuning in late), and descriptions of reactions (relating behavior and feelings) before attempting to judge the critical ability of the listeners (with education being the key variable) as well as conditions inhibiting critical ability. After examining the historical context of the broadcast, Cantril relates a series of six sample stories of two well educated people, two economically insecure people, and two religious people. In each pair, one person was frightened and the other was not. After evidencing that there are enormous individual differences within each of these categories, Cantril concludes the volume by attempting to offer his studied explanation for the panic. Republished in 1966 and more recently in 1982, "The Invasion Mars" might be somewhat outdated as "A Study in the Psychology of Panic," but it does provide a record of what the people caught up in the panic did that night and how they sought to explain their actions afterwards. In that regard it remains a fascinating piece of history. Even if you are not interested in going over the charts and graphs breaking down behavioral and attitudinal responses, you will find the anecdotes interesting. This study reflected a time in the social sciences when the "hypodermic needle"/stimulus-response model was being replaced by the idea that individual human beings mediated experiences in different ways (i.e., the "black box" of the human mind). However, I am sure the reason this book reappears in print from time to time has to do more with its infamous subject matter than its reflecting of a changing trend in the social sciences.
<< 1 >>
| 
