One
of the most elemental responses hardwired into the
human brain is the flight or fight response. It developed
in all animals as a means of survival and is present
in the primitive part of our brains. It is triggered
when the organism is faced with a threat. Threats
could originate from inanimate as well as animate
sources. For instance, we construe a car speeding
towards us as a possible threat; we also look on a
burning building as a threat. Similarly, we perceive
a lion as a possible threat; we also look on an angry
superior as a threat.
In
all these examples, there is another feature that
can be inferred. The level of the threat varies with
its immediacy. In the first case, a speeding car that
is some distance off is identified as a possible source
of danger. When the same car is close by it is identified
as a serious threat. The same is true of the next
two. If we are trapped inside the burning building
or facetoface with a lion, we feel threatened. However,
if we are a safe distance away, the feeling of being
threatened is mitigated. The last case is slightly
different from the others in that, we do not see the
angry superior as a physical threat but as someone
who can have an adverse impact on our career and livelihood.
The
cavemen of old had to face very tangible threats like
wild animals or inclement weather just like the threats
mentioned in the first three examples. It is only
modern man who has to face intangible threats like
that mentioned in the final example. Primed by the
flight or fight response, early man was able to decide
how to face the threat. If it seemed manageable, the
response was fight. If it seemed unmanageable, the
response was flight. In both the cases, however, the
physiological responses were identical.
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