Biopsychology: The Fight or Flight Response NEW Flashcards
Which division of the nervous system is linked to fight or flight?
Autonomic Nervous System
Which part of the brain identifies an event as a stressor?
Hypothalamus
Which branch of the Autonomic Nervous System is linked to fight or flight?
Sympathetic branch
The hypothalamus activates which gland?
Pituitary gland
Which hormone is released during fight or flight?
Adrenaline
Which part of the adrenal gland is involved in fight or flight?
Adrenal Medulla
Which physiological changes increase during the fight or flight response?
Increase heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Increased respiration
Which physiological reactions decrease during the fight or flight response?
Reduced Saliva production
Reduced digestion
How is the fight or flight response controlled and how fast is it?
Automatic
Immediate
When the stressor has been removed which part of the Autonomic Nervous System becomes active?
Parasympathetic Branch of ANS
The parasympathetic branch returns the body to a level of balance after the stressor has been removed. What term would best represent this?
Homeostasis
Name the direct effects of adrenaline
Increased heart rate, Increased blood pressure, Increasing blood flow to the brain and skeletal muscles
Name the indirect effects of adrenaline
Prepares the body for fight or flight, Increases blood supply to skeletal muscles for physical action, Stops digestion and saliva production, Increases oxygen to the brain for rapid response planning
What does increased oxygen to the brain lead to?
Rapid response planning
Assuming females have the same response to stress as males is which type of bias?
Gender (beta)
Females may not have a fight or flight response. Instead, it may be to …
Tend and befriend
What does ‘tend’ in tend and befriend mean?
Protect their offspring
What does ‘befriend’ in tend and befriend mean?
Form alliances with other women
Fight or flight might not be the only two responses. What is the other potential response?
Freeze
Why might people freeze when confronted with danger?
Freeze to consider the best course of action for the stressor they are faced with
What two systems play a major role in producing the fight or flight response?
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and the endocrine system
When would the sympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System be activated?
When a stressor is identified by the brain
When a stressor is identified by the brain, which branch of which nervous system is activated?
Sympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
What is the role of the hypothalamus in the fight or flight response?
Identifies a stressor
When would the pituitary gland be activated in the fight or flight response?
After a stressor is identified by the hypothalamus
Once the pituitary gland has been activated in the fight or flight response, what is triggered and where?
Activity in the sympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Where is adrenaline released into?
The bloodstream
Where is adrenaline released from during the fight or flight response?
The adrenal medulla
When the fight or flight response is produced, what is the body prepared for?
Sudden physical action
Increased heart rate, blood pressure and respiration and reduced saliva production and digestion are examples of…
Physiological reactions produced during the fight or flight response
Give three physiological reactions that are produced during the fight or flight response
Increased heart rate, Increased blood pressure, Increased respiration
Reduced saliva production, Reduced digestion
What type of response is the fight or flight response?
Immediate and automatic
Which branch of which nervous system returns the body back to normal once the stressor has been removed?
Parasympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The parasympathetic branch is involved in homeostasis, what does this mean?
It returns the body to a level of balance/back to normal once the stressor has been removed
Give two examples of how the body is returned back to normal by the parasympathetic branch
Heart rate decreased, Respiration decreased, Digestion increased
When adrenaline travels through the bloodstream, what does it activate that leads to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure?
The heart and circulatory system
What is the main function of the parasympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)?
To activate the “rest and digest” response and return the body to homeostasis after the fight or flight response
Why might the fight or flight response not explain the stress response in females?
Research has found women are more likely to protect their offspring (tend) and form alliances with other women (befriend) than to fight or run away
Research has found women are more likely to protect their offspring (tend) and form alliances with other women (befriend) than to fight or run away.
What does this suggest about the fight or flight response?
There is a gender (beta) bias, as the fight or flight response assumes that men and women respond in the same way to a threatening situation
State two issues with the fight or flight response
It does not explain the stress response in females
Human behaviour is not limited to two responses
Rather than fight or flight, what do psychologists argue is the first response to danger?
To avoid confrontation altogether through a ‘freeze’ response
Why is it suggested that the flight or flight response does not consider other factors such as thought processes?
People may freeze as a response to consider the best course of action for the threat they are faced with
Some psychologists argue that the first response to danger may instead be to freeze and consider the best course of action.
What does this suggest about the fight or flight response?
It does not consider other factors such as thought processes
