The Yerkes-Dodson law can be observed in various performance contexts. For example, a student taking an exam may perform poorly if their arousal level is too low, leading to boredom and apathy, or too high, causing debilitating anxiety. Similarly, a highly favored softball team might lose to a less skilled opponent if they enter the game with an arousal level that is too low, resulting in a lack of focus and intensity.

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The Yerkes-Dodson law, developed by researchers Robert Yerkes and John Dodson, describes the relationship between arousal and performance. It generally follows an inverted U-shaped curve, where moderate arousal leads to optimal performance, while very low levels (apathy) or very high levels (anxiety) impair it. However, the law also specifies that the ideal level of arousal depends on task complexity. Simple tasks are performed best with higher arousal, whereas complex tasks require lower levels of arousal for peak performance.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Examples of the Yerkes-Dodson Law in Performance

A key principle of the Yerkes-Dodson law is that the optimal level of arousal for performance varies with the nature of the task. Simple, well-learned tasks are performed most effectively under relatively high levels of arousal. In contrast, complex or difficult tasks are best performed when arousal levels are lower, as high arousal can interfere with the cognitive processes required for such tasks.

Optimal Arousal Level and Task Complexity

The Yerkes-Dodson law is visually represented by a line graph plotting "Performance quality" on the y-axis against "Arousal level" on the x-axis. The graph features two distinct inverted U-shaped curves: one for difficult tasks and another for easy tasks. This visualization demonstrates that the optimal arousal level for achieving peak performance is higher for easy tasks than it is for difficult tasks.

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