Yerkes-Dodson法则认为，压力与业绩之间存在着一种倒U型关系，适度的压力水平能够使业绩达到顶峰状态，过小或过大的压力都会使工作效率降低
Yerkes-Dodson法则（叶杜二氏法则）是心理学家叶克斯（R.M Yerkes）与杜德逊（J.D Dodson）经实验研究归纳出的一种法则，用来解释心理压力、工作难度与作业成绩三者之间的关系。他们认为因为动机而产生的心理压力，对作业表现具有促动功能，而其促动功能之大小，将因工作难度与压力高低而异。在简单易为的工作情景下，较高的心理压力之下，将产生较佳的成绩；在复杂困难的情绪扰乱认知性的心理活动所致，凡是复杂困难的工作，在工作程序上必定含有多种因素的交互配合的关系，如果心理压力过高，思考稍有疏忽，就难免忙中出错。简单工作多属重复性的活动，此种活动日久便会形成自动化的连锁功能，至此地步，不须认知思考，若有心理压力存在，不但不致影响自动化功能的进步，反而有可能使自动化的速度提升。
The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates an empirical relationship between arousal and performance. It dictates that performance increases with cognitive arousal, but only to a certain point: when levels of arousal become too high, performance will decrease. A corollary is that there is an optimal level of arousal for a given task.
It is a scientific principle developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and J. D. Dodson in 1908 and is grounded within the discourses of biopsychology and neuroscience.
Graph of Yerkes-Dodson Law
The process is often demonstrated graphically as an inverted U-shaped curve (curvilinear), increasing and then decreasing with higher levels of arousal. (However, there is also a linear component which proposes that in a simple task, performance increases with arousal. Therefore, in a simple task the relationship between arousal and performance is linear. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, only in a difficult task is the relationship between arousal and performance curvilinear.)
It has been proposed that different tasks may require different levels of arousal. For example, difficult or intellectually demanding tasks may require a lower level of arousal for optimal performance (to facilitate concentration), whereas tasks demanding stamina or persistence may be performed better with higher levels of arousal (to increase motivation).
The effect of the difficulty of tasks later on led to the hypothesis that the Yerkes-Dodson Law can be decomposed into two distinct factors. The upward part of the converted U can be thought of as the energizing effect of arousal. The downward part on the other hand is caused by negative effects of arousal (or stress) on cognitive processes, like attention ("tunnel vision"), memory, and problem-solving.
There has been research indicating that the correlation suggested by Yerkes and Dodson exists (such as that of Broadhurst, 1959; Duffy, 1962; Anderson, 1988), but a cause of the correlation has not yet successfully been established (Anderson, Revelle, & Lynch, 1989).
Despite some evidence to the contrary, the law is generally respected.
|
