Understanding the Freeze Response
Thursday, August 1, 2024.
In the spectrum of automatic responses to threat, the freeze response is often overshadowed by the more well-known fight or flight responses.
However, freezing plays a crucial role in survival, giving folks time to decide on the most appropriate action in dangerous situations.
This response, though seemingly passive, is a sophisticated strategy that allows for heightened awareness and deliberation.
The Freeze Response in Action
The freeze response can be observed in various scenarios, such as encountering a barking dog or facing an irate boss.
Contrary to popular belief, freezing is not merely a sign of paralysis or helplessness. Instead, it provides a critical pause, enabling folks to assess the situation's risks and benefits before taking action.
The body prepares for potential action, and the brain's visual system becomes hyper-alert to detect any threats.
Mechanisms Behind the Freeze Response
Mr. Felix Klaassen, who explored the freeze response in his PhD dissertation, emphasizes that this response is not a conscious choice but an automatic reaction over which we have little control. Klaassen explains:
“People think we are paralyzed in a freeze response, but that isn’t true at all. Under the bonnet, all sorts of processes are taking place that help us deal with the situation.”
Klaassen further elaborates on the physiological changes during a freeze response:
“The initial response that all people have to a greater or lesser extent in such situations is the freeze response. Your body stiffens and your heart rate goes down. Your sensory processing is activated. In animals, you can see the ears prick up and the pupils enlarge.”
Real-Life Implications
The freeze response is not just a theoretical concept but has practical implications in real-life situations. Professor Karin Roelofs, who has extensively studied this response, provides a compelling example from a 2007 incident involving a Dutch police officer:
“In 2007, a Dutch police officer became seriously wounded in such an armed attack in a police office in Amsterdam. Upon the attack, she froze for a moment and then decided to shoot.
The offender died on the spot. Later analyses of this shocking event made people realize that if the officer had frozen slightly longer, more people might have been injured.
On the other hand, if she had decided to shoot immediately after detecting the armed man, she might not have been wounded so badly” (Roelofs, 2017).
Roelofs' research and similar studies reveal that freezing can lead to faster and more accurate decisions in subsequent moments, demonstrating its advantage over immediate fight-or-flight responses.
The Freeze Advantage
Klaassen's research tested the freeze response by administering small electric shocks to participants when they reached to press a button for a reward. This setup allowed researchers to measure the internal processes occurring during freezing. Klaassen observed:
“While that was going on, we measured what was happening inside the body and in the brain. We saw that the stronger the freeze response, the more strongly the brain would balance rewards and punishments against each other.
Weighing up rewards and punishments against each other more strongly allows us to do a better job of assessing the potential consequences of our actions. This may help us make the right decisions.
We saw that the freeze response doesn’t necessarily result in avoidance.”
Final thoughts
The freeze response is a vital component of human survival, ensuring heightened alertness and balanced decision-making in the face of danger. Klaassen summarizes the findings:
“Our research shows that a freeze response ensures that you are more alert to possible dangers and possible rewards, so that you are able to take a more balanced decision.
It doesn’t paralyze us, but rather puts a temporary brake on the system, and when you release that brake, you are able to decide on the right course of action more quickly. So freezing can actually be a good thing, because it can help you deal better with the dangerous situations you encounter in life.”
The study is part of Klaassen's dissertation (Klaassen et al., 2024), highlighting the critical role of the freeze response in human behavior and decision-making. Thanks to Dr. Jeremy Dean and his team at Psyblog for uncovering this fascinating research.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Klaassen, F., Roelofs, K., & others. (2024). The Freeze Response in Human Survival: Mechanisms and Implications. Dissertation.
Roelofs, K. (2017). The Freeze Response: An Essential Component of Human Survival. Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience.
