A03

• What are the strengths of fight or flight response?

  1. Research contributes to our modern understanding
• What are the limitations of the fight or flight response

  1. The 'tend and befriend' response
  2. The 'freeze response'
  3. Positive rather than 'fight or flight' behaviours
  4. Negative consequences of fight or flight response
• Strength = research contributes to our modern understanding

  • Research is often highly controlled
  • Research methodology makes use of standardised procedures and precision equipment, so results are very reliable
  • This detailed understanding helps to better understand how chronic activation of the fight or flight response to non-life threatening stressors can lead to negative health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression
  • This is an important area of research as it has implications for improving the mental health and well-being of society
• Limitation = the 'tend and befriend' response

  • Taylor et al. (2000) suggests that for females behavioural responses to stress are characterised by a pattern of tend and befriend rather than fight or flight
  • Involves protecting their young through nurturing (tending) and forming protective alliances with other women (befriending)
  • Fleeing at any sign of danger would put a female's offspring at risk
  • Lee and Harley (2012) found genetic basis for gender differences in fight or flight response due to SRY gene (only found in males)
• Limitation = 'freeze response'

  • Gray (1988) argues that the first phase of reaction to threats is to avoid confrontation
  • Suggests that prior to responding with attacking or running away, most animals display the 'freeze response'
  • Initial freeze response is a 'stop, look and listen' response where the animal is alert to the slightest sign of danger
  • Adaptive advantages of this response for humans are that 'freezing' focuses attention and makes them look for new information in order to make the best response for that particular threat
  • Fight or flight response doesn't take this into account
• Limitation = positive rather than 'fight or flight' behaviour

  • Von Dawans et al. (2012) challenge the classic view that under stress men respond only with 'fight or flight', whereas women are more prone to 'tend and befriend'
  • Their study found that acute stress can actually lead to greater cooperative and friendly behaviour in both men and women
  • e.g. during the 9/11 terrorist attacks cooperative and friendly behaviour was shown resulting in human connections
• Limitation = negative consequences of the fight or flight response

  • The fight or flight response is useful in response to situations which require energetic behavioural responses
  • However, the stressors of modern day life rarely require such levels of physical activity and this can be harmful on our body
  • e.g. the increased blood pressure that is triggered by the activation of the SNS can lead to physical damage in the blood vessels and can eventually lead to heart disease