In 2006, a character on a portuguese tv show popular with teenagers suffered from a mysterious illness involving a rash, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. soon after the episode aired students at 14 schools reported the same symptoms. this is an example of

This is an example of mass hysteria. In psychology and sociology, mass hysteria (better known as collective hysteria or group hysteria) is a occurrence that spreads collective delusions of intimidations, whether actual or fantasy, over a population in civilization as an outcome of gossips and dread.