Read this topic

Performance does not simply rise with motivation or pressure, it follows an inverted U-shape, and the Yerkes-Dodson law describes this relationship between arousal (a state of physiological and mental alertness) and performance. Too little arousal leaves a person under-alert and underperforming, while too much arousal causes anxiety and errors that also reduce performance; performance peaks somewhere in the moderate middle. For example, imagine a trainee doctor sitting an exam: too relaxed and they lose focus, too anxious and they freeze, but a moderate, alert state produces their best performance. The law also states the optimal arousal level itself depends on how difficult the task is.

For simple or well-rehearsed tasks, high arousal can still be tolerated or even helpful, because the task demands little cognitive processing capacityA person's ability to understand, weigh up, and use relevant information to make a specific decision.Read more →. For complex or unfamiliar tasks, only low to moderate arousal supports peak performance, because high arousal narrows attention and overloads limited processing capacity. For example, imagine a sprinter under intense pressure performing at their best, a simple, over-learned physical task tolerates high arousal, compared with a surgeon attempting a difficult, unfamiliar procedure under the same pressure, whose performance instead deteriorates. In practice, this means raising arousal helps simple, under-aroused tasks, but reducing arousal helps complex, over-aroused tasks, rather than assuming more pressure always helps.

• In what kind of study was the Yerkes-Dodson relationship first demonstrated?
• Why can a performer be highly aroused yet still perform at their best?
• How does thorough practice of a procedure change its optimal arousal level?

• Yerkes-Dodson law, an inverted-U relationship between arousal and performance, unlike a simple linear 'more arousal is always better' assumption.
• Simple/over-learned tasks, tolerate high arousal near peak performance, whereas complex/unfamiliar tasks need low-to-moderate arousal for peak performance.
• Arousal, physiological and mental alertness, rather than anxiety, which is a specific negative emotional state that can be one cause of high arousal.
• Optimal arousal level, shifts with task difficulty, unlike a single fixed arousal level assumed to suit every task.

• The finding came from a laboratory animal experiment rather than a workplace survey.
• It was not derived from combat interviews.
• The work predates brain imaging by many decades.
• No stimulant trial was involved.
• They are distinguishable components, which is the point of the distinction.

• Name the learning, social or research principle being tested before reading the options.
• Identify the antecedent, behaviour, consequence or cognitive process in the vignette.
• Compare the direction of effect with the nearest competing principle.
• Apply the same rule to a new example to confirm that the answer transfers.