Biopsych: The fight-or-flight response

Question 1

What’s fight or flight?

Answer 1

An automatic physiological reaction to an even that’s perceived as stressful or frightening.

Question 2

Summarise the F or F

Answer 2

The perception of threat activates the sympathetic nervous system and triggers an acute stress response that prepares the body to fight or flee.

The amygdala is stimulated when an individual is faced with a threat and associates sensory signals with emotions associated with fight or flight e.g., anger or fear.

The amygdala sends distress signals to the hypothalamus, which functions like a command centre of the brain, communicating with the rest of the body through the sympathetic nervous system.

The body’s response to stressors involves 2 mahout systems, one for acute (sudden) stressors like a personal attack and for chronic (ongoing) stressors like a stressful job.

Question 3

What’s the response to acute (sudden) stressors known as?

Answer 3

The Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) response.

Question 4

What are the 3 components of the Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) response.

Answer 4

The SNS
Adrenaline
The PNS

Question 5

What does the Sympathetic Nervous System do in the SAM response?

Answer 5

when triggered sends signals to adrenal medulla which responds by releasing adrenaline or noradrenaline into bloodstream.

Question 6

What does Adrenaline do in the SAM response?

Answer 6

circulates through the body, causing a number of physiological changes.

Heart beats faster, blood pressure, breathing rate increases, release of glucose and fats into the bloodstream which supplies energy to the parts of the body associated with fight or flight.

Question 7

What does the Parasympathetic Nervous System do in the SAM response?

Answer 7

relaxes the body to reduce the stress response once the threat has passed —> restores heart rate, blood pressure, digestion etc.

Question 8

What’s the response to chronic (ongoing) stressors known as?

Answer 8

HPA axis

Question 9

What makes up the HPA axis?

Answer 9

Hypothalamus
The pituitary gland
The adrenal glands
Feedback

Question 10

What does the hypothalamus do in the HPA axis?

Answer 10

releases a chemical messenger (CRH) which is released into the bloodstream in response to the stressor.

Question 11

What does the pituitary gland do in the HPA axis?

Answer 11

on arrival at the pituitary gland, CRH causes the pituitary to produce and release ACTH. From the pituitary, ACTH is transported in the bloodstream to its target site in the adrenal glands.

Question 12

What does the adrenal glands do in the HPA axis?

Answer 12

ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to release various stress related hormones including cortisol which is responsible for several effects in the body that are crucial in the fight-or-flight response.

Some are positive – burst of energy and lower sensitivity to pain and some are negative – impaired cognitive performance and lowered immune response.

Question 13

What does feedback do in the HPA axis?

Answer 13

the system is very efficient in regulating itself.

Both the hypothalamus and pituitary glands have special receptors that monitor regulating cortisol levels.

If these rises above normal, they initiate a reduction in CRH and ACTH levels, thus bringing cortisol levels back to normal.

Question 14

What are the 4 AO3 points for the fight or flight response?

Answer 14

+ Postmodern view
- There’s a more common response for females
- May not tell the whole story
- Gender bias

Question 15

(+AO3) How does fight or flight present a postmodern view?

Answer 15

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.

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 suggests that the fight or flight response is a maladaptive response in modern-day life.

Question 16

(-AO3) What’s the more common response for females?

Answer 16

‘tend and befriend’ response in stressful/dangerous situations.

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.

Furthermore, the fight or flight response may be counterintuitive for women, as running (flight) might be seen as a sign of weakness and put their offspring at risk of danger

Question 17

(-AO3) How does fight or flight not tell the whole story?

Answer 17

Research argues that the first phase of reaction to a threat is not to fight or flee, but to avoid confrontation.

He suggests that prior to responding with attacking or running away, most animals (including humans) typically display the ‘freeze response.’

This initial freeze response is essentially a ‘stop, look and listen’ response, where the animal is hyper-vigilant, alert to the slightest sign of danger and decides on an appropriate response. This more adaptive response which is better for survival than simple fight or flight.

Question 18

(-AO3) How is fight or flight gender biased?

Answer 18

Early research into the fight or flight response was typically conducted on males (androcentrism) and consequently, researchers assumed that the findings could be generalised to females.

This highlights a gender bias within this area of psychology as psychologists assumed that females responded in the same way as males until Taylor provided evidence of a tend and befriend response.