Alarmism

Short description: Excessive or exaggerated alarm about a real or imagined threat

Alarmism is excessive or exaggerated alarm of a real or imagined threat. Alarmism connotes attempts to excite fears or giving warnings of great danger in a manner that is amplified, overemphasized or unwarranted. In the news media, alarmism can often be found in the form of yellow journalism where reports sensationalise a story to exaggerate small risks.[1]

## Alarmist personality

The alarmist person is subject to the cognitive distortion of catastrophizing - of always expecting the worst of possible futures.[2]

They may also be seeking to preserve feelings of omnipotence by trying to generate anxiety, apprehension and concern in others.[3]

## See also

* 2009 flu pandemic
* 2012 phenomenon
* Cassandra complex
* Climate alarmism
* Culture of fear - fear and anxiety in public discourse
* False alarm
* Hypochondriasis - excessive fear of illness and physical harm
* Mass hysteria - public fear in large populations
* Moral panic - threat to societal values
* Scaremongering (also called fear mongering) - use of fear to influence opinions
* Sociology of disaster - a special branch of sociology
* The Boy Who Cried Wolf - fable about false alarmism
* The Sky Is Falling - fable about alarmism
* Safety culture
* Conspiracy theory

## References

1. ↑ "The Risk of Poor Coverage of Risk". Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/the_risk_of_poor_coverage_of_r.php.
2. ↑ P. Gilbert, Overcoming Depression (1999) p. 88-90
3. ↑ T. Pitt-Aikens, Loss of the Good Authority (1989) p. 99

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