The Psychology of Mass Hysteria In 1692, the people of a small, religious village, Salem, Massachusetts, fell victim to an outbreak of mass hysteria caused by a fear of witchcraft. This fear of witchcraft was caused by a small group of girls who accused innocent people of the village of being under the influence of the devil and harming them with spells of witchcraft. How would a town so concerned with religion react to such outlandish …showed first 75 words of 1297 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1297 total…Reverend Hale to look inside himself to save the victims from the chaos that spread through the town. This hysteria illustrates how a person’s insight into the witchcraft trials can reveal one’s own duties and responsibilities to themselves. And although a small, religious town can fall victim to an outbreak of mass hysteria, Arthur Miller displays how humans can find their mistakes and learn from them, thus revealing the overall goodness of humankind.