Psychology / Unit 9 Psych 0991 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Yerkes-Dodson Law
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The idea
The Yerkes-Dodson law states that performance is best at moderate arousal, and that the optimum is lower for difficult tasks.
In practice
Mild nerves improve a familiar presentation and the same arousal degrades a first attempt at a complex task.
Where people slip
Task difficulty moves the peak. There is no single arousal level that is best in general.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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