Yerkes–Dodson law

The Yerkes - Dodson law ( by Robert Yerkes and John D. Dodson, 1908) describes the cognitive performance depending on different general nervous excitement levels, which are also referred to as " activation levels ": there is a reversed between the physiological activation and performance of U - shaped relationship. It is also called activation model.

The power curve is highly variable from person to person. It depends on the level of emotional awareness Enabled. In underload man lags behind its possibilities - the result is a power leak. By a healthy level of emotional awareness Enables the power can be increased up to a peak. Any increase in the level of arousal to the extent necessary, the performance decreases again.

If the power curve as a function entered by the level of arousal in a coordinate system, we obtain an inverted U - curve. This relationship is called the Yerkes - Dodson law ( see chart). The law dates back to experiments with laboratory mice and not on observations in humans.