Fight or Flight

• What are the 7 bodily reactions in the fight or flight response?

  -Pupil dilation

  -increased sweat

  -Increased muscle tension

  -Increased heart rate

  -Increased breathing rate

  -Decreased salivation

  -Decreased food digestion
• what is the AO1 for the fight or flight response

  -When a stressor is perceived from the environment, the hypothalamus in the brain detects the threat and activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).

  
  

  -The SNS sends signals to the adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal glands, triggering the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream.

  -Adrenaline causes physiological changes to prepare the body for action such as: (increased 7 bodily functions )

  Increased heart rate - More blood is pumped to the muscles and brain, improving oxygen supply for energy production.

  Increased breathing rate - More oxygen enters the bloodstream

  Pupil dilation -More light enters the eyes, improving awareness of the surroundings.

  Inhibited digestion - Blood flow is redirected from the digestive system to muscles, prioritising energy for action.

  
  

  -Rest and digest response occurs once the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is activated, restoring the body to a calm state (homeostasis) by reducing heart rate, slowing breathing, and resuming digestion. (reverse of the 7 bodily functions)
• what is the slow fight or flight response?

  -Maintains bodily activity for longer periods of time

  -Hypothalamus releases hormones to the pituitary gland

  -Pituitary gland sends hormones (ACTH) to activate the adrenal cortex which releases cortisol that travels in the bloodstream and binds to receptors on the target cell

  -This tells the body to remain active
• Limitation- gender differences

  -not everyone responds in the same way.

  
  

  -Taylor et al. (2000) suggests gender differences in stress responses, that females are more likely to engage in a tend and befriend responserather than fight or flight.

  
  

  -This involves protecting offspring (tend) and seeking social support (befriend), which may be to ensure offspring survival.

  
  

  -therefore, this challenges the universality of the fight or flight response because it shows that stress responses are more complex and influenced by social and biological factors.

  
  

  - gender-biased, as it does not fully consider alternative stress responses, particularly in females.
• Strength- evolutionary advantage

  -Autonomic reaction to perceived threats has been central to early humans, enabling them to respond swiftly to predators or environmental dangers

  
  

  -The psychological response allow early humans to either fight threats or escape to safety- increasing their chance of survival and reproduction

  
  

  -this response has been naturally selected as individuals with a stronger and effective fight or flight were more likely to survive

  
  

  -Strength- critical role in human survival and adaptation
• Limitation- fight or flight response may not be useful in modern society

  - not always beneficial in modern society.

  
  

  -before used to evolutionary advantage HOWEVER

  
  

  stressors in modern society are often psychological like work stress, exams.

  The constant activation of the sympathetic nervous system can lead to long-term health issues, such as high blood pressure & anxiety disorders.

  
  

  -This suggests that the fight or flight response is a may now be maladaptive, as modern stressors are not quite rigorous .

  
  

  -highlights the need for alternative stress-management strategies like relaxation techniques rather than an outdated biological mechanism.

  
  

  -However, in situations requiring immediate reaction such as self-defence, , the fight or flight response remains highly adaptive and can save lives.
• Limitation- ignores other stress response

  - ignores the freeze response, which may be more effective in certain situations.

  
  

  -Gray (1988) suggested that rather than immediately reacting with fight or flight, some individuals freeze, meaning they pause to assess the situation before deciding how to respond.

  
  

  -This may be an adaptive survival strategy

  -as freezing allows individuals to remain still in dangerous situations.

  therefore,the existence of the freeze response challenges the idea that fight or flight is the only stress response, suggesting that the model oversimplifies human behaviour.