The Fight or Flight Response

Question 1

What is the fight or flight response?

Answer 1

A physiological reaction that prepares our body for perceived danger

Question 2

What is an acute stressor?

Answer 2

A sudden, short-lived yet dramatic response to stress

Question 3

What is a chronic stressor?

Answer 3

A consistent feelings of stress that happens over a prolonged period of time

Question 4

What is the process of responding to an acute stressor?

Answer 4

1. A person enters a dangerous/stressful situation
2. The amygdala (part of limbic system) is activated which sends a distress signal to hypothalamus
3. The hypothalamus activates the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM pathway) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
4. The SNS stimulates the adrenal medulla
5. The adrenal medulla secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream
6. The body changes to facilitate to fight or flight response

Question 5

What are the reactions of the fight or flight response?

Answer 5

• Increased heart rate (moves blood flow to organs to increase adrenaline transported)
• Increased breathing rate (to increase oxygen intake)
• Pupil dilation (to increase light entry into the eye and enhance vision)
• Sweat production (to regulate temperature)
• Reduces non-essential functions (To increase energy for other essential functions)

Question 6

How does the body relax after fight or flight response?

Answer 6

The parasympathetic nervous system inhibits the effects, and acetylcholine uses inhibiting effects to further relax the body

Question 7

How does the body respond to a chronic stressor?

Answer 7

1. Amygdala stimulates the hypothalamus to release CRH
2. CRH stimulates the anterior pituatary to release ACTH
3. ACTH stimualtes the adrenal cortex to release cortisol

Question 8

What are the negative evaluations of the fight or flight response?

Answer 8

Fight or flight doesn’t tell full story
* There is another response known as the ‘freeze’ response
* Gray (1988) critiques that the first phase of the process is to freeze
* The initial freeze is the hypervigilant response to danger
* The advantages of this is that the freeze lets people assess situations before entering them

Tend and befriend response
* Fight or flight may not be applicable to females
* Taylor et al suggests women respond through a tendency to ‘tend’ to the young and ‘befriend’ other women
* Women may have evolved with a completely different system to men (fleeing during danger endangers children)
* Oxytocin may be responsible for this
* Gender causes peoplke to differentiate in response to stressors

Negative health consequences
* Physiological responses are adaptive for stress but modern life rarely requires such a high level of physical activity
* Repeated responses can lead to illness (e.g increased blood pressure leading to damaged blood vessels, cortisol decreases immune system etc)
* Fight or flight response helps, but still has negative health consequences