Stress and learning by Prescott h Breeden

 

The Yerkes-Dodson Law

 

In 1908, Yerkes and Dodson published findings of a remarkable phenomenon they discovered regarding the relationship between arousal and performance.

 

The law asserts:

 

The speed of learning and performance increases with arousal however it quickly reaches an optimal intensity where learning and performance then deteriorate.

 

Both weak stimuli and strong stimuli result in slow habit-formation.

The more difficult the task, the lower the optimal level of arousal for maximum performance

 

“A stimulus whose strength is nearer to the [minimum] threshold than to the point of harmful stimulation is most favorable to the acquisition of a habit.”

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