Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 13.5
Yerkes-Dodson's law,
formulated in 1908, postulates a
relationship between arousal (or stress)
and performance. The curves are
original, but the classifications into
skill-based and knowledge-based tasks
were added by the author.
performance may suffer due to under-arousal. Note that in Figure 13.5, skill-based (easy)
tasks suffer less from over-arousal than do knowledge-based (difficult) tasks.
Note that Yerkes-Dodson's law does not apply in the individual case. Some people
thrive under high stress and some cannot perform. However, there is evidence that, from
a probabilistic point of view, if we were to examine the behavior of a large group of
people, they would on average behave as in Figure 13.5. Kahneman (1973) made
reference to much research in support of Yerkes-Dodson'a law.
So who is right, Poulton or Broadbent? As with many theories of human behavior, the
truth may have elements of both Poulton's and Broadbent's theories (Sanders and
McCormick, 1993). More research is necessary to answer these intriguing problems.
EXERCISE: DISCUSSION OF THEORIES
Within the frameworks outlined by Poulton, Broadbent, Yerkes-Dodson, and Rasmussen,
discuss the following:
1. Noise may facilitate certain tasks such as repetitive assembly.
2. Noise may degrade performance on tasks requiring information processing, such as
working on manufacturing orders and calculations of pricing, billing, and shipping
information.
Discuss the positive effects of noise on the following tasks:
