Physiological Responses
• The fight-or-flight response - “a physiological reaction to threat that mobilizes an
organism for attacking (fight) or fleeing (flight) an enemy”.
• It occurs in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which “is made up of the nerves that
connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands”.
• Sympathetic division mobilizes energy during emergencies, engages the fight- or-flight
response.
• Parasympathetic division conserves energy, has calming effect on body. –
Unfortunately, the fight-flight response is not well suited for coping with modern threats.