The invasion from Mars
Subtitle: a study in the psychology of panic
By: Hadley Cantril
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780691641669
Subjects: War of the worlds (Radio program); Radio broadcasting; Panic; Psychological aspects
Description: From the Publisher: "On Halloween night 1938, Orson Welles broadcast a radio adaptation of the H. G. Wells fantasy, The War of the Worlds. What listeners heard sounded so realistic that at least a million were frightened by word that "strange creatures" from Mars had landed in central New Jersey and were "unleashing a deadly assault."  Several thousand were so terrified they ran into the streets, drove away in their cars, or called the police for information about how to escape.  Why did so many panic when the circumstances reported were so improbable?  That is just the question Hadley Cantril, then a young social psychologist, set out to answer." Originally published in 1940, The Invasion from Mars remains a classic. The broadcast provided a unique real-life opportunity to explore why the relatively new medium of radio could have such an effect. Using a mix of research methods, Cantril shows that the impact of the broadcast had less to do with what went out over the air than with the "standards of judgment" people did or did not use in evaluating what they were hearing.  This book is of continuing value to those interested in communications and mass behavior.
Notes: Originally published: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1940. With new introd.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: 1: Incredible as it may seem; title: Broadcast (script / Howard Koch); title: 2: It was something terrible; title: Nature and extent of the panic; title: 3: It didn't sound like a play; title: How the stimulus was experienced; title: 4: We'd better do something; title: Description of reactions; title: 5: I figured; title: Critical ability; title: 6: I'm so worried; title: Conditions inhibiting critical ability; title: 7: Being in a troublesome world; title: Historical setting; title: 8: My background; title: Individual case; title: 9: Jitters have come to roost; title: Why the panic?; title: Appendix A: Miscellaneous information; title: Appendix B: Interview schedule; title: Appendix C: tables; title: Index.