fight or flight response

• The fight or flight response is a bodily reaction that occurs in response to stress and potential danger.
• The bodily reactions of the fight or flight response include pupil dilation, increased sweating, increased muscle tension, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, decreased salivation and decreased digestion
• The fight or flight response results from the combined activity of two systems: the endocrine system, and the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.
• The hypothalamus is part of the endocrine system and central nervous system. It is located above the pituitary gland
• Sensory neurons in the somatic nervous system allow the hypothalamus to receive information from the external world
• The autonomic nervous system gives the hypothalamus signals about what’s going on in our body
• Signals from the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system reach the hypothalamus. This then releases hormones that target the pituitary gland which releases hormones that target other glands, like the adrenal gland.
• To increase or decrease bodily activities, the hypothalamus sends electrical signals to the autonomic nervous system.
• The hypothalamus receives electrical signals from the brain and the somatic and autonomic nervous systems when the body is in a dangerous situation.
• When we are in stressful or dangerous situations, the hypothalamus receives signals from the rest of the nervous system and sends instructions to the pituitary gland by releasing hormones into the bloodstream. These instructions tell the pituitary gland to communicate with the other glands, such as the adrenal glands, to either increase or decrease the release of hormones.
• Signals about threats in the outside world are detected by the somatic nervous system, which are then processed in the brain
• Signals about the activity of our internal organs are detected by the autonomic nervous system.
• To trigger the fast fight or flight response, a stimulus from the outside world will be detected and the hypothalamus sends electrical signals to the sympathetic nervous system. This activates the adrenal medulla, which releases adrenaline. Adrenaline travels through the bloodstream to target cells to produce the bodily reactions of fight or flight
• The fast response of fight or flight involves the hormone adrenaline. The slow response involves the hormone cortisol 
• To trigger the slow response, the hypothalamus releases hormones to the pituitary gland which releases ACTH, activating the adrenal cortex which releases cortisol. This travels through the bloodstream and binds to target cells.
• To slow down the body, the hypothalamus sends electrical signals to the parasympathetic nervous system.
• The rest and digest response causes the opposite effects on the body as the fight or flight response.
• Only male participants used. We can’t be sure that women react the same way to men when they’re put under stress and that the findings generalise to women. This is problematic as findings lack population validity.
• Ignores individual differences. Fight or flight research assumes that people always respond to stress by fighting or fleeing. Does not account for the fact that some people freeze in stressful or dangerous situations. Problematic as cannot be applied to everyone. This is problematic as does not provide a comprehensive explanation
• Not useful for day-to-day life. In our everyday lives our fight or flight response isn’t always very useful when we deal with frequent, small, non-life threatening stressors. Because of this, our fight or flight response can become over-activated, which can be harmful to our health.