Yerkes-Dodson Law: Performance And Excitement

The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that there is a direct relationship between performance and arousal. Psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson developed this law in 1908.

The Yerkes-Dodson Act states that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a certain point. When the arousal level becomes too high, the performance decreases. According to this law, the best way to improve arousal and performance is by working on tasks that allow us to stay alert.

In their experiment, Yerkes and Dodson discovered that electric shocks could motivate rats to complete a maze. But if they gave them too much shock, their performance level dropped and they were simply just trying to escape. The experiment showed that arousal levels helped to focus attention on the given task, but only up to a certain point.

How the Yerkes-Dodson Act works

An example of how the Yerkes-Dodson Act works is the anxiety you experience before a test. An optimal stress level can help you focus on the test and remember information. However, too much anxiety can affect your ability to concentrate, which in turn inhibits your ability to remember information.

Another good example of how the Yerkes-Dodson Act works is sports performance. When an athlete is ready to make an important move, an ideal level of tension (an adrenaline release) can increase their performance and allow them to succeed. However, when an athlete is too stressed, this can threaten their performance a lot.

So what determines an ideal level of tension? This question does not have a single answer, as the different voltage levels vary from task to task.

For example, it is known that the performance level decreases when there is a low activation level. This means that if you do a relatively simple task, you can handle a much higher range of activation levels.

Simple tasks such as making copies or housework make you less likely to be affected by very low or very high activation levels. However, your performance in much more complex tasks is affected by low and high activation levels.

If a person’s stress levels are too low, they may feel that they lack the energy needed to perform the task. However, very high voltage levels can be just as problematic, and can result in a lack of concentration.

The inverted U-model

What Yerkes and Dodson describe is often graphically illustrated as a bell-shaped curve that rises and then falls with higher voltage levels. This explains why many know the Yerkes-Dodson law as the inverted U-model.

Due to differences in tasks, the shape of the curve may vary. For simple or learned tasks, the ratio is uniform and performance improves as the voltage increases. But for complex, unknown, or difficult tasks, there is a point where the relationship between arousal and performance is reversible, which means that performance decreases as voltage increases.

The one variable in the inverted U-graph represents the stimulating effect of the voltage. The second variable represents the negative effects of arousal (or stress) on cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and problem solving.

According to the inverted U-model , a moderate pressure allows an individual to achieve their maximum performance. However, when they experience too much or too little pressure, their performance drops, in some cases quite drastically.

The left side of the graph illustrates the time when a person is not challenged, sees no reason to work hard for a task, or performs their work in a careless and unmotivated manner.

Half of the graph shows when a person is working at maximum efficiency when they are motivated to work hard but do not feel pressured.

The right side of the graph shows when they start to get too pressured because they feel too overwhelmed.

The four influential factors

The inverted U-model is different for each individual, depending on the situation. In fact, there are four influential factors that can affect this curve: skill level, personality, anxiety character, and the complexity of solving the task.

The abilities of individuals also affect their performance when it comes to solving the given task. A highly educated person who feels confident in their abilities is more likely to handle situations where there is a lot of pressure as they can rely on their learned abilities.

Moreover, the individual personality also plays a big role in the way they handle pressure. Psychologists believe that extroverts are better at dealing with pressure than introverts. Thus, one can assume that introverted individuals perform better when there is an absence of pressure.

In terms of anxiety, a person’s self-esteem also affects the way they handle any situation. A confident person is more likely to behave calmly under pressure because they will not doubt their abilities as much as an insecure individual.

Finally, the complexity of a task is another factor that affects an individual’s performance. Making copies is not as difficult as having to write an essay or a clinical report. However, the complexity of a task varies from person to person.

Rounding comments on the Yerkes-Dodson Act

Despite the fact that the Yerkes-Dodson Act is more than a century old, it is still very useful today. In fact, it is still being studied, especially in the context of work and sports.

Research conducted between 1950 and 1980 confirmed that there is a link between high stress levels and increased motivation and focus. However, these studies could not determine the exact cause of this.

In 2007, researchers suggested that this association was related to the brain’s production of stress hormones, which were measured during memory performance tests and which showed a curve similar to the Yerkes-Dodson law.

In addition, this study showed a positive association between good memory and performance, suggesting that stress hormones may also be responsible for the Yerkes-Dodson effect.