the fight or flight response Flashcards
what nervous system produces the fight or flight response
autonomic
what is the stressor identified by
Hypothalamus
what branch is activated when a stressor is identified
sympathetic
what hormone is released during the fight or flight response and what by
adrenaline and noradrenaline by the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream
what does adrenaline activate
heart and circulatory system
effects of adrenaline
increase heart rate
Constrict blood vessel -increase blood flow and blood pressure
increase flow of oxygen to the brain to enable rapid response planning
increase blood and oxygen supply to the muscle for physical action
diverts blood away from the skin, kidneys and digestive system
digestion stops reducing salvation and resulting in dry mouth
increase respiration and sweating
what does the fight or flight prepare the body for
sudden physical action
what does the fight or flight response produce
physiological response eg increase HR and blood pressure
what happens once the stressor is removed
the parasympathetic branch activates the rest and digest response and returns the body back to homeostasis (normal)
acronym
sally - stressor
has - hypothalamus
seen- sympathetic
a - adrenaline
piranha- parasympathetic
Fight or flight response
a stressor is identified by the hypothalamus and activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
adrenaline and noradrenaline are released by the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream
The “fight or flight” response is produced preparing the body for sudden physical action. This produces physiological reactions such as the increased HR or blood pressure
the parasympathetic branch activates the rest and digest response and returns the body back to homeostasis (normal) once the stressor has been removed
how may the fight or flight response not be helpful
The stressor that cause the fight or flight response to be produce may be scenario e.g imagining bad result on a test this a situation that you cannot fight or flee. The physiological reaction that occur due to the fight or flight response may be unhelpful and decrease the performance eg if you are in an exam increase sweating of the palms would make it difficult to hold a pen and write quickly
weaknesses of fight or flight response
P- human behaviour isn’t limited to two responses
E- some psychology argue our first response to danger is a freeze response
E- Gray (1988) suggests that the first response to danger is to avoid confrontation altogether, which is demonstrated by a freeze response. During this response humans are hyper-vigilant and consider the best course of action for the treat they are faced with
L - This suggest the fight or flight response does not consider other factors such as thought process
P- can be criticised for Beta bias
E - fight or flight response is typically a males response to danger and early research on the fight or flight was mainly conducted on males ( androcentrism) consequently researchers assumed that the finding can be generalised to females. This highlight beta bias as psychologist assumed that females responded in the same way as males until react research provide evidence that female tend to adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ response
E- According to Taylor et al. (2000), women are more likely to protect their offspring (tend) and form alliances with other women (befriend), rather than fight an adversary or flee
L - Therefore the research into the fight or flight response can be criticised as for long time the stress response was not fully understood and a real difference
P- negative implications on women/economic implications
E - due to early research mainly being carried out on men leading to psychologist to assume female responded in the same way as men it may of lead to women being seen as abnormal as they deviate from the general laws of how to response to danger
E- When females adopt the ‘tend and befriend’ to protect their offspring( tend) and formed alliance with other women (befriend) it diverted from what was expect leading to women being misunderstood or pathologist.
L- Therefore, the lack of understanding of the fight or flight response and early research being androcentric could results in economic implication as women would be seen to need medical treatment as they was viewed as abnormal.
P- negative impact on health in Morden-day life
E- While the fight or flight response may have been a useful survival mechanism for our ancestors, who faced genuinely life-threatening situations (e.g. from predators), modern day life rarely requires such an intense biological response.
E- Furthermore, the stressors of modern day life can repeatedly activate the fight or flight response, which can have a negative consequence on our health. For example, humans who face a lot of stress and continually activate the sympathetic nervous system, continually increase their blood pressure which can cause damage to their blood vessels and heart disease. This results in economic implications as increase blood pressure, damage to blood vessel and heart disease require treatment, increasing the burden on the NHS. Furthermore, they result in a decrease in employment reducing taxpayer for a response that is rarely required in our lives.
L - This suggests that the fight or flight response is a maladaptive response in modern-day life.
State 5 weakness of the fight or flight response
Humans aren’t limited to two response
Beta bias
Negative implications on women
Negative Impact on health in Morden-day life
Economic implications
Strength of fight or flight response
P- biological explanation of the fight or flight response used scientific methods
E - based on objective and empirical techniques
E- using HR and blood pressure monitor to test the physiological response to threat, such as increase HR which are associated with the fight or flight response
L - increase the internal validity of the fight or flight response, therefore raising psychology’s scientific status
