Yerkes–Dodson law

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Original data from which the Yerkes–Dodson law was derived
Original Yerkes–Dodson law
Hebbian version of the Yerkes–Dodson law (this version leaves out that hyperarousal does not adversely impact simple tasks). This version is the most common version and often incorrectly cited in text books.

The Yerkes–Dodson law is an empirical relationship between arousal and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908.[1] The law dictates that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When levels of arousal become too high, performance decreases. The process is often illustrated graphically as a bell-shaped curve which increases and then decreases with higher levels of arousal.

Levels of arousal[edit]


Because of task differences, the shape of the curve can be highly variable.[2] For simple or well-learned tasks, the relationship can be considered linear with improvements in performance as arousal increases. For complex, unfamiliar, or difficult tasks, the relationship between arousal and performance becomes inverse, with declines in performance as arousal increases.



Relationship to glucocorticoids[edit]



See also[edit]


  1. ^ Yerkes RM, Dodson JD (1908). "The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation". Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology 18: 459–482. doi:10.1002/cne.920180503. 
  2. ^ Diamond, David M.; Adam M. Campbell; Collin R. Park; Joshua Halonen; Phillip R. Zoladz (2007-03-28). "The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law". Neural Plasticity 2007: 60803. doi:10.1155/2007/60803. PMC 1906714. PMID 17641736. 
  3. ^ Anderson KJ, Revelle W, Lynch MJ (1989). "Caffeine, impulsivity, and memory scanning: A comparison of two explanations for the Yerkes-Dodson Effect". Motivation and Emotion 13: 1–20. doi:10.1007/bf00995541. 
  4. ^ Lupien SJ, Maheu F, Tu M, Fiocco A, Schramek TE (2007). "The effects of stress and stress hormones on human cognition: Implications for the field of brain and cognition". Brain and Cognition 65: 209–237. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2007.02.007. PMID 17466428.