Lesson 5 - Fight and Flight

Question 1

What is the Sympathomedullary pathway

Answer 1

• Route which enables brain to direct sympathetic branch of (ANS) to activate

-in response to short-term stress

Question 2

How does the sympathomedullary pathway work

Answer 2

• SNS triggered by hypothalamus

• Hypothalamus sends signal to adrenal medulla

• Adrenaline released into bloodstream

Question 3

What does adrenaline do

Answer 3

-increase heart rate

-constrict blood vessels

-increase blood flow rate

-raise blood pressure

-divert blood away from skin,
kidneys, digestive system

-increase blood supply to brain
& skeletal muscles

-increase respiration & sweating

Question 4

Why does adrenaline do what it does

Answer 4

Prepares body for action and fight or flight

-increased blood supply increases oxygen

-increased oxygen to skeletal muscles for physical action

-increased oxygen to brain for rapid response planning

Question 5

What does the PNS do

Answer 5

• PNS dampens stress response when threat passes

-slows down heart beat
-reduces blood pressure
-digestion restarts

Question 6

+ Makes sense from evolutionary psychology POV

Answer 6

Since that’s how survival works

shrugs what else do you want from me

Question 7

+ Adrenaline is essential to prep body for stress

Answer 7

• Studies support claim adrenaline essential in prep body for stress

• People w/ malfunctioning adrenal glands don’t have normal fight or flight response

Question 8

• Some people’s first reaction is ‘Freeze’

Gray(1988)

Answer 8

• Person stops, looks, listens
-hyper vigilant to danger

• Disputes idea that fight or flight is instinctual unconscious response to stress

Question 9

• Conflicting evidence in females ‘tend and befriend’

Taylor(2000)

Answer 9

• Taylor(2000) found females ‘tend and befriend’ as response to stress

• Protection of offspring (tend)

• Seeks social groups for mutual defence (befriend)

• Women have oxytocin meaning more likely to stay and protect offspring

• Disputes idea of generalisability/representativeness of fight or flight to entire population

Question 10

• Men also tend and befriend

Von Diwans(2012)

Answer 10

• Von Diwans(2012) found males also tend and befriend

• During 9/11 males and females both tended/befriended

-tried to contact loved ones and help each other