Yerkes-Dodson Law
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
The Yerkes–Dodson law is an empirical relationship between arousal and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson and published, in 1908, in the Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 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.
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The Yerkes–Dodson law is an empirical relationship between arousal and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson and published, in 1908, in the Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology.
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Motivation intensity and task performance exhibit an inverted U-shaped relationship: when motivation is too low, effort is insufficient; when too high, anxiety interferes with cognition; moderate intensity yields optimal performance. The optimal arousal level varies with task difficulty—simple tasks can tolerate higher arousal, while complex tasks require lower arousal.
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- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerkes%E2%80%93Dodson_lawverified
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