There can be various motivators that contribute to a decision of “Flight or Fight” including our biological make up. What does your book say about “Instincts?”
The term ‘Fight or Flight’ has become a somewhat commonplace and flippant piece of information amongst humans. [ What was once a seminal theory is repeatedly referenced – often without a true understanding of Walter Cannon’s discovery or the adaptations he later made to his thesis. Most of us know that ‘fight or flight’ is the response in an animal’s brain when faced with a threat, but what we may forget is that when we are faced with danger, many of us neither fight or runaway – rather, like chameleons, many of us try to disappear. You may have experienced this on the train, when a man,
psyched and leering for a fight, scans the carriage trying to catch someone’s eye. Those keen on self-preservation will studiously avoid meeting his eyes. We will try not to stand out.Charles Darwin once wrote that “… fear is the most depressing of all emotions” as he described scared animals literally depressing themselves by flattening their ears and crouching close to the ground. But while some wild animals may react this way to conserve energy, neither wanting to ‘fight or flight’ unless it is absolutely necessary, often humans will stay still due to social restraint. The bushfires in Victoria early this year is an example of just how dulled our survival instincts have become.
Journalists wrote of how people in the direct line of fire on Black Saturday were paralysed not by fear, but by complacency. Tourists took photos of the black furls of smoke coming toward them before returning poolside. Drinks were still being poured at a wedding banquet even when the staff outside were throwing buckets of water onto the reception centre. ]
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selymi|Points 6723|
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Asked 11/16/2011 9:11:52 AM
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