Abstract

FERNANDEZ PONCELA, Anna María. Mass Psychology, Social Identity, Epidemics, and Rumors: Influenza in Mexico. Sociológica (Méx.) [online]. 2012, vol.27, n.76, pp.189-230. ISSN 2007-8358.

The article looks at the world of rumors, from their definition to their social funcionality as a cultural narrative, both in the sense of emotional and even therapeutic usefulness, and as a socio-cultural and political narrative. Also, in order to contextualize the rumor, we look into its inception as a collective action, since in a certain way, it is part of a social identity and the so-called mass psychology. The article zooms in on Mexico's 2009 influenza epidemic, analyzing the perceptions of the citizenry, the political-administrative handling of the situation, and the semantic content of the concrete rumors.

Keywords : rumor; mass psychology; influenza; Mexico; cognition; emotion.

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