Fight or flight

Question 1

What is stress and a stressor?

Answer 1

● Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced on encountering a
threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with.
● A stressor is the stimulus (or threat) that causes stress, e.g. exam, divorce, death
of loved one, moving house, loss of job.
● Both the CNS and ANS are involved in the process of fight or flight.

Question 2

Describe the fight or flight response - a01

Answer 2

1. The amygdala (in our brain) judges a situation and decides whether or not it is
   stressful
2. If the situation is judged as being stressful, the hypothalamus (at the base of the
   brain) is activated.
3. The hypothalamus sends signals to the pituitary gland and the adrenal medulla.
4. Adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla.
5. Adrenaline leads to arousal of the sympathetic nervous system and reduced
   activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.
6. Adrenaline also has several effects on the body, including: increasing the heart
   rate and blood pressure, redistributing blood to the muscles, decreasing digestive
   activity, and dilating the pupils in the eye.
7. Once the threat is over, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over to return
   the body to a balanced state

Question 3

Role of the CNS

Answer 3

The amygdala judges a situation as stressful or not stressful based on:
● Sensory input from sensory neurons via the spinal cord
● Stored memories (i.e. what happened the last time we were in a similar situation)
● Our schema (mental representations)
● Input from the temporal lobes – auditory cortex and the occipital lobe - visual
cortex.

Question 4

Role of the ANS

Answer 4

The ANS is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system,
maintaining homeostasis in the body. These activities are generally performed without
conscious control.
Includes the pituitary gland and adrenal medulla, and the
sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems.
The Fight or Flight Response acts via the Sympathomedullary Pathway (SAM).

Question 5

What does adrenaline do?

Answer 5

● Increasing the heart rate
● Increasing blood pressure
● Expanding the air passages of the lungs
● Dilating the pupil in the eye
● Redistributing blood to the muscles
● Altering the body’s metabolism, to maximise blood glucose levels (primarily for the
brain).
● Decrease in digestive activity (don’t feel hungry/dry mouth/lower saliva production)
● Liver releases glucose for energy.

Question 6

A03 - Lab studies and individual differences

Answer 6

1. Measuring stress hormones can be done within a clinical setting which yields objective, empirical data.
2. If this data shows consistency/reliability across multiple studies then the theory is supported.
3. However, there is considerable variation in level and type of hormones released by different
   people, and in response to different stressors – not a simple physiological process. People
   without adrenal glands need hormonal supplements to survive stress.
4. This shows that whilst the theory can explain the process of fight or flight, the individual
   differences mean that the theory isn’t a fully comprehensive one that is generalisable to all
   people

Question 7

A03 - The freeze response

Answer 7

1. The fight or flight theory predicts human beings will either fight or flee from danger,
   however human behaviour is not limited to only two responses.
2. Gray (1988) suggests that the first response to danger is to avoid it altogether, which is
   demonstrated by a ‘freeze’ response.
3. During the freeze response, humans are hyper-vigilant while they appraise the situation to
   decide the best course of action.
4. This suggests that the fight-or-flight explanation of behaviour is limited and does not fully
   explain the complex cognitive and biological factors that underpin the human responses to
   stress/danger.

Question 8

A03 - Beta Bias

Answer 8

1. The fight or flight theory does not fully explain the stress response in females.
2. Taylor et al. (2002) suggest that females adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ response in
   stressful/dangerous situations: Women are more likely to protect their offspring (tending)
   and form alliances with other women (befriending), rather than fight an adversary or flee.
3. This highlights a beta bias within this area of psychology: psychologists assumed that females
   responded in the same way as males until Taylor suggested otherwise.
4. Therefore, the original fight or flight explanation may have been limited in its application to
   females.