The "deer in the headlights" effect refers to high-stress situations in which people tend to be slow or unable to act. According to attention research, this happens because when stress is very high, _____.

• A. Available attention decreases dramatically
• B. Memory capacity increases
• C. Attention improves
• D. Perception is unaffected

Answer: (A)

When stress gets extreme, attention becomes a scarce resource and the brain reallocates its processing toward fast threat detection and action. This arousal narrows what you can attend to, reducing the total available attention you can deploy to other tasks. That drop in available attention means slower reaction or a freeze—the classic “deer in the headlights” effect.

So the best choice is that available attention decreases dramatically. Memory capacity and overall perception aren’t simply boosted by stress, and perception isn’t unaffected—high arousal tends to narrow focus and can impair broader situational awareness.