057 Freeze-Flight-Fight-Forfeit
The ordered, instinctive response to acute stress.
• When people are exposed to stressful or threatening situations, their instinctive responses are to freeze, flee, fight, and forfeit, in that order.
• When a threat is suspected, the instinctive response is to freeze—to stop, look, and listen for threats.
• When a threat is detected, the instinctive response is to flee—to escape from the threat.
• When unable to escape from a threat, the instinctive response is to fight—to neutralize the threat.
• When unable to neutralize the threat, the instinctive response is to forfeit—to surrender to the threat.
• Consider freeze-flight-fight-forfeit in the design of systems that involve performance under extreme stress. It is critical to design systems and training to address each stage of the stress response differently versus a one-strategy-fits-all approach.
See Also Classical Conditioning • Threat Detection
