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This article provides a detailed overview and expert insights on the Yerkes-Dodson Law to help leaders select the appropriate framework to support business growth and sustainability.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law was developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in the early 1900s. Their groundbreaking research on the relationship between arousal (or stress) and performance laid the foundation for understanding how stress impacts human productivity and effectiveness in the workplace.
Since the original research paper was published in 1908, many interpretations of this law have been considered. In it, Yerkes and Dodson detailed their experiments involving “discrimination learning” in mice and the mice’s response to different levels of “non-injurious” electrical stimuli.
They discovered that moderate electrical shocks could motivate mice to complete a task in fewer steps than when they received mild shocks. But when the researchers increased the shocks to maximum intensity, the animals’ performance would suffer again. This demonstrated that increasing stress levels can elevate motivation and focus on the task at hand — but only to a certain point.
The original experiments are far removed from how the law and its broad application to stress and performance in humans are perceived today.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law is a psychological principle that suggests there’s an optimal level of stress for performance. Too little arousal leads to a lack of focus and poor performance, while too much causes elevated levels of stress and anxiety that decrease performance. Based on this principle, the relationship between arousal and performance is often represented as an inverted U-shaped curve.
Key Concepts of the Law include:
Optimal arousal: This suggests that there’s a stress “sweet spot” (also known as the optimal stress zone) where peak performance is achieved. This occurs when the right amount of stress is present to complete a task without causing “overstress” and performance decline.
Task complexity: This dictates that the optimal level of arousal varies depending on task complexity. Simple tasks may benefit from higher arousal, while complex tasks require lower arousal for optimal performance.
Individual differences: Individuals possess different optimal arousal levels based on personality, experience, and other unique factors.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law addresses key pain points related to stress and human performance:
Pain points can be triggered when organizations are undergoing large-scale change and/or facing new issues, such as market volatility, organizational restructuring, or supply chain breakdown. By addressing these pain points, the Yerkes-Dodson Law provides a framework for understanding and optimizing the relationship between stress and performance in various situations.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law is applicable across all stages of organizational development. It's particularly useful when:
As you evaluate this framework, consider the top pros and cons:
As with any psychological principle, it's important to approach the Yerkes-Dodson Law with flexibility and ongoing assessment within the workplace. It’s also important to stay current on relevant research and its application in the area of stress and performance. Regular feedback from team members and performance data should guide the application of this principle, ensuring that it truly serves to enhance both individual and organizational outcomes.
If you believe the Yerkes-Dodson Law is applicable to your organization, consider the following steps for implementation:
For those ready to take action, consider these actionable steps: