Fight or flight

• The nervous system and the endocrine system work together during the fight or flight response. It has evolved as a survival mechanism to react quickly to life threatening events.
• The hypothalamus deals with basic survival functions, recognises that there is an immediate threat.

  • message to the adrenal gland through the nervous system to the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline into the blood stream and noradrenaline in the brain
  • ANS sends messages through the sympathetic branches to prompt physical changes, e.g. increased heart rate (speed up blood flow) , faster breathing (increase oxygen intake) reduced digestive and immune system functioning (allow energy to be directed to physically dealing with threat, e.g. fighting/running)
• If the brain continues to perceive something as a threat, the second system is initiated.

  • The pituitary gland releases ACTH which travels to the adrenal cortex and tells it to release cortisol
  • Effects of this are to increase blood sugar levels and to shut off the immune system
  • Also helps with inflammation
  • Known as HPA axis ( hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal gland )
  • Other known as SAM ( sympathetic, adrenal, medulla)
• Evaluation - Taylor et al

  • Female responses to stress are more characterised by tend or befriend rather than fight or flight.
  • Nurturing response for offspring as running away or fighting would not be useful for child's survival in the environment of evolutionary adaptation
  • Befriend part - tendency to form alliances which is seen in women's response to stress, more likely to deal with it through social support than men are
  • May be due to release of oxytocin by p.g, which increases relaxation and decreases some arousal for fight or flight, which could suggest reason for gender differences
• Evaluation

  There are also times where humans and non humans deal with a threat through a freeze response rather than an immediate fight or flight response which is seen when some non human animals appear to play dead. In humans, it is thought that the freeze response gives some time to analyse the situation before rushing into a reaction
• Why can the stress response be considered maladaptive in modern sedentary jobs?

  It leads to negative long-term effects on health
• What was the original purpose of the fight or flight response in the EEA?

  To deal with dangerous threats for survival
• What negative effect does continued cortisol release have on the immune system?

  It suppresses the immune system, increasing colds
• How does a continued stress response impact the cardiovascular system?

  It can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health
• What are the long-term effects of a continued stress response in sedentary jobs?

  • Negative impact on health
  • Increased susceptibility to colds
  • Negative effects on the cardiovascular system
• Evaluation- Implication

  • due to the perceived stress at work, there are implications for interventions that help people deal with the stress response
  • stress management programmes can be implemented to help individuals decrease the bodily resopnse such as minor tranquilisers in extreme cases of stress, or psychological approaches that help people stay calm by alterine perceptions of stressors that prevent threat from becoming a long term health concern
  • economy implications - cost of stress related absence is billions of pounds and by helping people manage stress, economy benefits