Contents
Hello! The Yerkes-Dodson law is also called the law of optimum motivation. And today we will look at what it is, and also how it can help you to achieve success in any field of activity.
Introductory information
Have you read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy? This novel mentions Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky, Anna’s brother. He was the chairman of the government office and a fairly respected personality. Because he did his job well.
Do you know why he was able to cope with the work? Because, according to the author, he was completely indifferent to her. He was only interested in the salary, which he did not want to lose. Therefore, it was necessary to perform duties without errors. But he did not devote himself completely to his work, did not sacrifice his personal time and did not strive for perfection.
What do you think this information is for? And to the fact that the example with Oblonsky just explains the operation of the Yerkes-Dodson law. If a person is overly interested, the result of his activity will be low. Exactly the same as in the absence of motivation.
Experiments
On animals
In 1908, respectively, Yerkes and Dodson decided to conduct an experiment on mice to find out what effect the strength of motivation had on their performance at completely different levels of task complexity.
The subjects had to successfully complete the maze by initially choosing the correct entrance to it. In the case of a quick and successful completion of the task, at the end they were expected by a reward, directly an individual of the opposite sex. In extreme cases — an electric shock of completely different strength.
So, it turned out that if a small discharge was given during the task, the mice accelerated, but, with a sufficiently painful one, they began to move more slowly, sometimes completely lost in the maze, not finding a way out.
In the future, a similar experiment was carried out on chimpanzees, cats and even chickens, the results of which only confirmed the theory.
On people
After giving a group of subjects puzzles, the experimenters offered a monetary reward for solving each problem as an incentive. Moreover, the reward, initially completely insignificant, increased several times with each completed task, gradually reaching a significant amount.
It turned out that for symbolic money people worked somehow, completely without enthusiasm. It began to grow along with the so-called salary. Labor efficiency also increased. But when the amount became unreasonably high, the group began to panic, which led to errors in the work.
Provisions
Therefore, based on the results of the experiments, Yerkes and Dodson formed a law that consists of the following provisions:
- There is an optimum of motivation, that is, its optimal level, which should be followed if it is necessary to achieve the desired results of activity.
- The more complex the activity, the less motivation will be optimal. That is, with an easy task, increasing the reward will give a positive effect, but not soon. And with a complex one, on the contrary, it will only get in the way.
How does it work?
Following the above provisions, we can conclude that in fact the secret of success is very simple. With difficult work, a person should be focused only on the result itself, which will be his encouragement.
It is also important that he stay calm, not be too interested in him. As the saying goes, «do what you have to do and then everything will work out.»
Usually, when someone performs a heroic deed or creates something unique, he says that he was just doing his job and does not see anything supernatural in it.
Have you noticed that when an emergency arises that requires urgent action or the right decision, a person seems to be paralyzed and he is unable to think at all?
Such a reaction does not characterize him as weak-minded or cowardly. It’s just that at such a moment he experiences a state similar to panic. The brain simply refuses to think rationally, feelings are so captivating that they prevent it from performing its functions.
This is exactly the same with increased stimulation. A person wants to receive such a significant encouragement so much that he cannot think of anything else. Therefore, he gets confused, starts to get even more nervous, which subsequently threatens with a complete failure.
Where to apply?
The paper
Especially if you are a leader. Most often, employers seek to encourage employees as highly as possible, thinking that then they will take a more responsible attitude to work. But later it turns out that this is the other way around, causing them to have a negative attitude towards duties.
Yes, and the level of stress increases due to competition and tension. Emotional instability due to the resulting excitement and excessive involvement in the process negatively affects concentration. Which subsequently leads to errors and even apathy. Since energy is also spent to the maximum.
For self-development
Your motivation must be optimal, otherwise the expected development and changes in the psychology of your personality cannot be achieved. For example, if you want to lose weight and all thoughts are occupied only with this idea, it will not work for a long time on proper nutrition.
You will just interfere with yourself and provoke breakdowns. Exhausting loads and food restrictions will lead to severe stress. Which, as you can learn from this article, brings a lot of harm to health.
It is necessary to calm down, to realize that losing weight is most likely a long process and it is worthwhile to carry out the planned without fuss. Then there is a chance to feel pleasure and satisfaction, gradually observing the desired results.
Completion
Be attentive to yourself and your feelings, try to find your own optimum and stick to it.
If you can’t get started on a task at all, because motivation is too low and no incentives can influence it, use the recommendations that are here.
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina