Question

2 - dealing with speech anxiety

learning objective: explain how to mitigate the impact of performance anxiety on public speaking.

the fight or flight response is triggered ______.

a.) only by imminent danger
b.) by the parasympathetic nervous system
c.) by real or perceived danger
d.) by a fast heart rate

Explanation:

Analyze the physiological trigger of the fight-or-flight response

The fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary survival mechanism triggered by the sympathetic nervous system when an organism perceives a threat. This threat does not have to be an immediate, physical, or "imminent" danger; the brain processes psychological stressors (such as public speaking or performance anxiety) using the same neural pathways as physical threats. Therefore, the response is activated by both real physical danger and perceived psychological threats.

Evaluate the given options

• a.) only by imminent danger: Incorrect, because psychological stressors (perceived threats) also trigger it.
• b.) by the parasympathetic nervous system: Incorrect, because the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the "rest and digest" response, whereas the sympathetic nervous system triggers fight-or-flight.
• c.) by real or perceived danger: Correct, as the brain reacts to both actual physical threats and anticipated or imagined stressors (like public speaking).
• d.) by a fast heart rate: Incorrect, because a fast heart rate is a physiological symptom/result of the response, not its initial trigger.

Answer:

• a.) only by imminent danger
• b.) by the parasympathetic nervous system
• c.) by real or perceived danger (Correct answer)
• d.) by a fast heart rate