Introduction & Theoretical Background
The Yerkes-Dodson Law (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908) is a well-known finding in the psychology literature. In summary, the law suggests that performance increases with mental arousal (stress) but only up to a point. When an individuals’ level of stress is too low or too high, their performance deteriorates. This relationship between stress and performance is usually depicted as an inverted U-shaped curve.
Egan and colleagues (2014) recommend sharing the Yerkes-Dodson Law with perfectionistic individuals because of their dislike for inefficiency and wasted effort. The law also has important implications for overcoming perfectionistic striving:
- The law suggests that putting too much effort into tasks may be unnecessary (at best) and counterproductive (at worst).
- Perfectionistic striving and the stress associated with it increases the risk of inaccurate and inefficient performance (Ishida, 2005; Stoeber, 2011).
- People with perfectionism might achieve the same (or better) results if they approach activities in a less effortful and pressurized manner.
- Individuals benefit