The Yerkes-Dodson Law
A little pressure sharpens you. Too much and you choke. There's a peak — find yours.
Grounded in the research on the Yerkes-Dodson law
Know the curve first
Performance vs pressure isn't a straight line, it's an upside-down U. Robert Yerkes and John Dodson proved it in 1908 shocking Japanese dancing mice through a discrimination task. Too little arousal and you're flat and bored. Too much and you fall apart. There's a sweet spot in the middle. Stop assuming more stress always means more output — past the peak it tanks you. That bell shape is the whole law.
Match arousal to difficulty
The real finding everyone forgets: the peak moves. For easy, well-drilled tasks, crank the pressure high and you go faster. For hard or unfamiliar tasks, the optimal arousal is way lower. The mice learned an easy choice best under strong shocks, but a hard choice best under mild ones. So before a complex exam or a new skill, dial the stakes down. Save the adrenaline for stuff you could do half-asleep.