You see better when you are scared.

I was scared of this question, but then I saw the light.

Ashok Kansal, because the pupils dilate letting on more light, also you are heavily focusing in the object of your fear

Vince Savage, you gave a better explanation to this question..thanks for extra information.

Vince Savage, brilliant explanation. That should have been the proper answer!

I beg to differ. According to healthcentral.com: "In the case of chronic stress and anxiety, the level of adrenaline within the body remains elevated. This can cause pressure on the eyes, sometimes resulting in blurred vision Tunnel vision is another feature of excessive adrenaline. This tends to occur at times of high arousal or during a panic event." In other words, fear causes blurred vision. I also researched several other resources after reading this question & answer, and they all agree: anxiety, fear, stress, all are causes of blurred vision, not clearer eyesight. I would really like to know where your answer came from...?

Player, maybe that's their nature in all situations. Most humans run as a course of nature

Great question! Aren't humans amazing

maybe in actual "scientific" theory, but in actuality, when you're scared, the mind plays tricks and wins out.

If you’re frighted at night (i.e. a low light situation) dilation might improve one’s ability to see the danger. That does not make the correct answer true Wanda... Write a better question

dlh, that's true.

So why do people freeze when they know they should flee

Why does no one ever refer to passive fright reactions? Fight or flight is an active response. Some people can freeze when they get scared

Howard Groopman, very funny answer!

To say, "Fight or Flight" is pretty old technology, 1910 to be exact. Psychology has done quite a bit of research in this are in the last 110 years, and unsurprisingly found that you have more than two choices. I prefer the formulation by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.) as he explains in his Book, "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society" (2009). He describes the responses as Fight, Flight, Posture of Submit. Posturing refers to bluffing, as when a bear stands on it's hind legs. Doing so makes it seem larger and if this intimidates his foe and causes them to leave, the bear does not risk injury or death in the possible battle. Submitting refers to backing down in the hopes that the other person does not attack. When a person is robbed by an assailant with a weapon and they turn over their valuables, they are hoping that this good will gesture will stop the other person from killing or hurting them. Others have described, "The Three F's" Fight, Flee, or Freeze, but this leaves our the real possibility of bluffing, and the possibility of submitting, and perhaps freezing is an internal way of fleeing the situation

Carol Focht Cheney That means you got it.

Sight might intensify however memory of the actual event can become unreliable. Witnesses watching the same high intensity event will and can describe it differently!

joan musicmasters, you are speaking of "chronic fear" I think they are speaking of sudden fear in which all your senses sharpen to aid you. Tho in some that kind of fear can cause a total "freeze" and pretty much rendered helpless, this doesn't usually last for long tho before self-preservation kicks in.

Makes total sense to me.

Vince Savage, And your spleen dumps a lot of oxygenated blood into your circulatory system to support your heighten state.