Fight/Flight/FreezeEvidence & Dosage
Stress-response patterns, somatic manifestation, regulation.
Evidence at a glance
- Total studies
- 21
- With abstract
- 16
- Meta / Systematic / RCT
- 0
- Highly cited
- 5
- Publication years
- 2004–2026
Fight/Flight/Freeze in the context of Mental
This topic is part of our "Mental" world. There you'll find methodology, evidence and the highest-impact levers — plus the order in which they sensibly build on each other.
Go to MentalTop studies on Fight/Flight/Freeze
Ranked by influential-citation count and publication year.
The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ): Development and validation.
Psychological Assessment201643 influential citationsWe report the development and validation of a questionnaire measure of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) of personality. Starting with qualitative responses to defensive and approach scenarios modeled on typical rodent…
Freeze for action: neurobiological mechanisms in animal and human freezing
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences201735 influential citationsUpon increasing levels of threat, animals activate qualitatively different defensive modes, including freezing and active fight-or-flight reactions. Whereas freezing is a form of behavioural inhibition accompanied by parasympathetically…
Freeze, Flight, Fight, Fright, Faint: Adaptationist Perspectives on the Acute Stress Response Spectrum
CNS Spectrums200421 influential citationsThis article reviews the existing evolutionary perspectives on the acute stress response habitual faintness and blood-injection-injury type-specific phobia (BIITS phobia). In this article, an alternative evolutionary perspective, based on…
Fight, Flight or Freeze: Common Responses for Follower Coping with Toxic Leadership.
Stress and Health20167 influential citationsSustained destructive leadership behaviours are associated with negative outcomes that produce serious workplace problems, yet there is scant research into how followers effectively cope with toxic leader behaviours. Despite numerous…
Neural Dynamics of Shooting Decisions and the Switch from Freeze to Fight
Scientific Reports2019n=546 influential citationsReal-life shooting decisions typically occur under acute threat and require fast switching between vigilant situational assessment and immediate fight-or-flight actions. Recent studies suggested that freezing facilitates action preparation…
Development and Psychometric Investigation of an Inventory to Assess Fight, Flight, and Freeze Tendencies: The Fight, Flight, Freeze Questionnaire
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy20154 influential citationsFear is a psychological construct inherent in assessment of and reaction to threat. Its expression has been associated with individual differences in temperament, personality, and behavioral inhibition. Defining and subsequently assessing…
ERP Indicators of Self-Pain and Other Pain Reductions due to Placebo Analgesia Responding: The Moderating Role of the Fight-Flight-Freeze System
Brain Science20211 influential citationsThis study evaluates the modulation of phasic pain and empathy for pain induced by placebo analgesia during pain and empathy for pain tasks. Because pain can be conceptualized as a dangerous stimulus that generates avoidance, we evaluated…
Cognitive Factors Affecting Freeze-like Behavior in Humans
The Journal of general psychology2017Contemporary research on survival-related defensive behaviors has identified physiological markers of freeze/flight/fight. Our research focused on cognitive factors associated with freeze-like behavior in humans. Study 1 tested if an…
Psychometric Properties and Network Analysis of the Arabic Version of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Scale-Short Version in Patients with Anxiety Disorders
Psychiatric quarterly2025n=700This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of a short version of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ-S) among a sample of 700 patients with anxiety disorders (53.1%…
Switch from fight-flight to freeze-hide: The impacts of severe stress and brain serotonin on behavioral adaptations in flatfish
Fish Physiology & Biochemistry2024Animals often experience changes in their environment that can be perceived as stressful. Previous evidence indicates that different individuals may have distinct stress responses. The role of serotonin (5-HT) in stress adaptation is well…
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