According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law, which statement is true about performance and arousal?

• A. Performance Is Best At Extremely High Arousal
• B. Performance Is Worse At All Arousal Levels
• C. There Is An Optimal Moderate Arousal For Best Performance
• D. Arousal Has No Effect On Performance

Answer: (C)

Performance and arousal follow an inverted-U pattern: as arousal rises from very low, performance tends to improve, but only up to a moderate level. Once arousal becomes too high, performance declines. This is why there is an optimal moderate level of arousal at which performance peaks. The precise level depends on the task—simpler or well-practiced tasks can tolerate higher arousal, while complex or novel tasks benefit from lower to moderate arousal.