Fight or Flight Responses Flashcards
What is the fight or flight response?
The body’s response to a stressful situation.
What does the fight or flight response prepare the body to do?
To either fight or run from a threat.
Why is the fight or flight response considered an evolved survival mechanism?
It enables quick action in life-threatening situations.
What systems work together in the fight or flight response?
- The endocrine system.
- The nervous system.
What part of the nervous system starts the fight or flight response?
The Sympathetic Nervous System.
What hormone is secreted during the fight or flight response?
Adrenaline.
What brain structure associates sensory signals with emotions?
The amygdala.
What does the amygdala do when we face a threat?
Identifies the threat and sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus.
What role does the hypothalamus play when a stressor is detected?
Acts as a command center and activates the sympathetic nervous system via the brain stem.
What happens after the sympathetic nervous system is activated by the hypothalamus?
It signals the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline into the bloodstream.
What does adrenaline do as it circulates through the body?
Triggers physiological changes to prepare the body for action.
What are the physiological effects of adrenaline?
- Increased heart rate.
- Increased respiration.
- High blood pressure.
- Slowed Digestion.
- Pupil dilation.
- Release of sugars and fatty acids.
What happens once the threat has passed?
The parasympathetic nervous system is activated to return the body to its resting state.
What are the weaknesses of the fight or flight response?
- Individual differences in response.
- Neglects the ‘freeze’ response.
- The male response isn’t only to either ‘fight’ or ‘flight’.
What evidence displays the individual differences in response?
- Taylor et al. (2000).
- Females have a ‘tend and befriend’ response protecting children.
- They nurture and form protective alliances with others.
What evidence displays the neglection of the ‘freeze’ response?
- Gray (1998).
- When people experience a stressor they often pause first.
What is a further evaluation point regarding the neglection of the ‘freeze’ response?
- Freezing may be helpful as it helps people focus attention and look for information to decide whether to fight or flight.
What evidence displays the male response isn’t only to either ‘fight’ or ‘flight’?
- Von Dawans et al. (2012).
- Acute stress can lead to greater collaboration, cooperation, and friendly behaviour in men.
