The Fight or Flight Response

What is the fight or flight response? AO1

Its our body’s involuntary response to a perceived threat or danger, it is an evolutionary survival mechanism

What is the first step of the fight or flight response? AO1

the situation is appraised and the CNS perceives it as stressful

What happens when the situation is perceived as stressful? AO1

-the brain, in particular the hypothalamus, is alerted by the amygdala

-this recognises the threat as acute

-so activates the sympathetic nervous system (SAM Pathway)

What does the sympathetic nervous system stimulate? AO1

stimulates the adrenal medulla which is part of the adrenal glands

What do the adrenal medulla do? AO1

secrete the hormone adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream

What does the secretion of adrenaline do? AO1

prepares the body for fight or flight

as a result causes a number of physiological changes

What are examples of the physiological changes caused? AO1

-increased heart rate

-increased breathing rate

-pupil dilation

-digestion stops

-sweat production

What brings the body to an optimum level of functioning? AO1

the parasympathetic nervous system

What is one weakness of the fight or flight response? AO3

-ve: Human behaviour is not limited to just two responses

For example, Gray suggested that the first response to danger is to avoid confrontation altogether and freeze- called it the ‘freeze’ response. He suggested that during this ‘freeze’ response individuals are deciding the best course of action

This suggests that the original proposal of the fight or flight response is biologically reductionist given that it doesn’t account the psychological response to danger

Therefore reduces the validity of the theory as can be argued it does not provide a full explanation of the complex human response

What is one weakness of the fight or flight response? AO3

-ve: Does not explain the stress response in females

Taylor et al suggested that females instead adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ response. This is because they are more likely to protect their offspring and so form alliances with other women.

This highlights beta bias within the area of psychology as it was assumed females would respond in the same way as males, which they do not

This could lead to androcentrism if women do not act according to the male standard

Therefore the explanation is limited in its application to females, thus weakening the validity

What is one weakness of the fight or flight response? AO3

-ve: Limited Application to Modern Society

This response may have been a useful survival mechanism for our ancestors, who faced genuinely life threatening situations (e.g. from predators),

but modern life rarely requires such an intense biological response

Therefore criticises the temporal validity of the fight or flight response, suggesting it cannot be applied to modern society

However some individuals may still live in a way that requires such responses like the fight or flight- for example tribal communities

This supports the fight or flight response, strengthening the validity