Fight or Flight Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A fire alarm sounds because of burnt toast, yet someone’s heart races before they know there is no fire. What does this illustrate?
Perceived threats can trigger the response before full evaluation
Physical danger must cause injury before arousal begins
A false alarm cannot activate a real bodily response
Fight or flight occurs only after danger is confirmed
2. What commonly happens to digestion during an immediate fight-or-flight response?
It may temporarily slow as resources shift elsewhere
It permanently stops until the threat is resolved
It accelerates because the stomach receives more blood
It becomes the body’s main energy priority
3. Which statement best distinguishes acute stress from chronic stress?
Acute stress is always psychological, while chronic stress is always physical
Acute stress is an immediate, limited response, while chronic stress persists or repeatedly recurs
Acute stress involves cortisol only, while chronic stress involves adrenaline only
Acute stress occurs during confrontation, while chronic stress occurs only at work
4. Compared with adrenaline’s very rapid effects, what is one role of cortisol in the stress response?
It helps sustain energy availability over a somewhat longer period
It instantly returns heart rate to baseline
It prevents the brain from detecting possible threats
It acts only during restful digestion and sleep
5. Which part of the nervous system most directly drives the rapid bodily changes associated with fight or flight?
The enteric nervous system
The parasympathetic nervous system
The somatic sensory system
The sympathetic nervous system
6. During rapid breathing under stress, a person becomes lightheaded and notices tingling around the fingers. Which mechanism can contribute?
A sudden increase in melatonin levels
A rapid rise in carbon dioxide caused by slow exhalation
Overbreathing can lower carbon dioxide and produce these sensations
An immediate shutdown of all sympathetic activity
7. During one confrontation, Maya argues forcefully, although she usually withdraws from conflict. What conclusion is most accurate?
Defensive responses can vary with context, appraisal, learning, and available choices
Withdrawal cannot be related to a flight response unless she physically runs away
The single incident proves Maya has a fixed fight personality
Speaking during the conflict means her stress system was not activated
8. Two people experience the same sudden loud noise but react with different levels of fear. What best explains this difference?
The nervous system should produce an identical reaction in everyone
Only the person with the stronger reaction has detected the sound
Appraisal, past experience, context, and current state can shape the response
A quieter reaction means no physiological response occurred
9. A person facing a frightening situation becomes still and briefly struggles to speak. Which concept best describes this reaction?
A deliberate decision to ignore the situation
A freeze response within the broader defensive system
A parasympathetic digestive reflex only
Evidence that no threat response has occurred
10. How can pupil dilation support an immediate threat response?
It blocks visual information so attention can turn inward
It improves close-up reading while reducing awareness of the surroundings
It directly lowers blood pressure by relaxing the heart
It allows more light to enter and may support rapid visual scanning
11. After a non-dangerous confrontation ends, which action is most directly intended to help reduce lingering physiological arousal?
Repeatedly scanning the room for new signs of conflict
Mentally replaying every possible negative outcome
Holding the breath for as long as possible
Using slow, comfortable breathing with an unforced longer exhale
12. Just before speaking to a tense crowd, someone develops a dry mouth, sweaty palms, and trembling hands. What is the best explanation?
The symptoms prove the person is physically unsafe
The body has entered its normal digestive recovery phase
A perceived threat has activated an acute sympathetic response
The parasympathetic system is sharply increasing arousal
13. Which chemical is released quickly by the adrenal medulla during an acute fight-or-flight response?
Cortisol
Epinephrine, also called adrenaline
Melatonin
Oxytocin
14. After a near-miss while driving, which later change most clearly reflects parasympathetic recovery?
The pupils continue to widen while muscles remain tense
Attention becomes increasingly fixed on possible danger
Adrenaline production keeps rising for the rest of the day
Heart rate and breathing gradually return toward baseline
15. Why does heart rate commonly increase when a threat is detected?
To reduce the amount of blood reaching skeletal muscles
To deliver oxygen and fuel to tissues more rapidly
To make digestion use energy more efficiently
To lower alertness and encourage sleep
16. Someone develops chest pain, fainting, or severe breathing difficulty and thinks it might be fight or flight. What is the most appropriate conclusion?
Fight-or-flight symptoms can always be identified without medical assessment
A stress-related explanation means urgent care is unnecessary
Severe symptoms should receive urgent medical attention rather than being assumed to be stress
An online quiz can determine whether the symptoms are medically serious