What is the "fight-or-flight" response?

A: A therapy technique for managing anxiety

B: The brain's tendency to either confront problems or avoid them

C: An automatic physiological response to perceived threat, preparing the body to act

D: A theory about how animals choose mates

Correct: An automatic physiological response to perceived threat, preparing the body to act

The fight-or-flight response is a rapid, automatic reaction to threat, orchestrated by the sympathetic nervous system and hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Heart rate increases, breathing quickens, muscles tense, and digestion slows — all to prepare you to either confront the threat or escape it. This response evolved to handle physical dangers, but it fires in response to psychological threats (a difficult email, a looming deadline) even though running away isn't usually an option.

All stress is harmful and should be avoided.

Answer: False

Psychologists distinguish between "eustress" (positive, motivating stress) and "distress" (harmful stress). A moderate amount of pressure — meeting a deadline, preparing for a presentation, competing in sport — can improve focus and performance. This is the Yerkes-Dodson principle: performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point, then declines. The problem is not stress per se, but chronic, uncontrollable stress that the body cannot recover from.

Which of the following is a well-evidenced effect of chronic (long-term) stress on the body?

A: Improved immune function

B: Lower blood pressure

C: Increased risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired immune function

D: Better sleep quality

Correct: Increased risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired immune function

Chronic stress — stress that doesn't let up over weeks or months — takes a significant toll on the body. Sustained high levels of cortisol suppress immune function (making you more susceptible to illness), raise blood pressure, disrupt sleep, impair memory and concentration, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This is why managing chronic stress is not just about feeling better — it has real physical health consequences.

What does psychological research suggest about how we can reduce stress most effectively?

A: Avoiding all stressful situations and responsibilities

B: Changing how we think about a stressor, not just the stressor itself

C: Taking medication at the first sign of stress

D: Distracting yourself from the stressor with entertainment

Correct: Changing how we think about a stressor, not just the stressor itself

One of the most effective evidence-based approaches to stress is cognitive reappraisal — changing how you interpret a stressful situation. Research by Alison Wood Brooks found that telling yourself "I'm excited" before a high-pressure situation (reframing anxiety as excitement) significantly improved performance. More broadly, seeing challenges as opportunities rather than threats, and focusing on what you can control rather than what you can't, are among the most powerful stress-management tools available.

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce the physiological impact of stress.

Answer: True

Physical exercise directly counteracts the stress response by metabolising stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, releasing endorphins, and activating the parasympathetic "rest and digest" nervous system. Regular exercise is consistently associated with lower anxiety, better mood, improved sleep, and greater resilience to stressors. Even a 20-minute walk can produce measurable reductions in stress and anxiety.

Why do some people seem much more resilient to stress than others?

A: Resilient people simply don't experience stress

B: Resilience is entirely genetic and cannot be developed

C: Resilience involves a combination of thinking patterns, coping strategies, social support, and experience with manageable adversity

D: Resilient people care less about outcomes and are therefore less affected

Correct: Resilience involves a combination of thinking patterns, coping strategies, social support, and experience with manageable adversity

Resilience — the ability to adapt and recover from stress and adversity — is not a fixed personality trait. Research shows it involves how you interpret events (a sense of control and meaning), the coping strategies you use, the quality of your social support, and crucially, experience with overcoming challenges. Some adversity in manageable doses can build resilience, while overwhelming, uncontrollable stress without support tends to undermine it. Resilience can be developed at any age.