Yerkes-Dodson法则认为，压力与业绩之间存在着一种倒U型关系，适度的压力水平能够使业绩达到顶峰状态，过小或过大的压力都会使工作效率降低

　　Yerkes-Dodson法则（叶杜二氏法则）是心理学家叶克斯（R.M Yerkes）与杜德逊（J.D Dodson）经实验研究归纳出的一种法则，用来解释心理压力、工作难度与作业成绩三者之间的关系。他们认为因为动机而产生的心理压力，对作业表现具有促动功能，而其促动功能之大小，将因工作难度与压力高低而异。在简单易为的工作情景下，较高的心理压力之下，将产生较佳的成绩；在复杂困难的情绪扰乱认知性的心理活动所致，凡是复杂困难的工作，在工作程序上必定含有多种因素的交互配合的关系，如果心理压力过高，思考稍有疏忽，就难免忙中出错。简单工作多属重复性的活动，此种活动日久便会形成自动化的连锁功能，至此地步，不须认知思考，若有心理压力存在，不但不致影响自动化功能的进步，反而有可能使自动化的速度提升。

The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates an empirical relationship between arousal and performance. It dictates that performance increases with cognitive arousal, but only to a certain point: when levels of arousal become too high, performance will decrease. A corollary is that there is an optimal level of arousal for a given task.

耶斯基－道德森定律展示了唤醒水平和表现水平之间的经验关系。它规定了表现水平随着认知的唤醒而增加，但只会增加到某一个固定的点，当唤醒水平过高时，表现就会下降。可以推知，对于给定的目标，存在着最佳的唤醒水平。

It is a scientific principle developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and J. D. Dodson in 1908 and is grounded within the discourses of biopsychology and neuroscience.

这是一个由心理学家Robert M. Yerkes and J. D. Dodson在1908年基于对生物心理学和神经科学的论述发展起来的科学原则。

Graph of Yerkes-Dodson Law

The process is often demonstrated graphically as an inverted U-shaped curve (curvilinear), increasing and then decreasing with higher levels of arousal. (However, there is also a linear component which proposes that in a simple task, performance increases with arousal. Therefore, in a simple task the relationship between arousal and performance is linear. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, only in a difficult task is the relationship between arousal and performance curvilinear.)

这个过程通常被描述为一个倒U型的曲线，随着唤醒水平的增加而先增后减。（然而，有存在着的一条线性的分量认为，在简单任务中表现随着唤醒水平而不断上升。因此，在简单任务中，唤醒和表现的关系是线性的。根据耶斯基－道德森法则，仅仅在具有难度的任务中，唤醒水平和表现水平才是曲线的。）

It has been proposed that different tasks may require different levels of arousal. For example, difficult or intellectually demanding tasks may require a lower level of arousal for optimal performance (to facilitate concentration), whereas tasks demanding stamina or persistence may be performed better with higher levels of arousal (to increase motivation).

研究表明，不同难度水平的任务可能要求不同程度的唤醒水平。例如：困难的或者要求智力成分的任务，要达到最佳的表现可能就要求较低的唤醒水平（以便于集中注意力），而对于要求耐力和持久力的任务来说，要想表现的更好则需要更高的唤醒水平（以增加动机）。

The effect of the difficulty of tasks later on led to the hypothesis that the Yerkes-Dodson Law can be decomposed into two distinct factors. The upward part of the converted U can be thought of as the energizing effect of arousal. The downward part on the other hand is caused by negative effects of arousal (or stress) on cognitive processes, like attention ("tunnel vision"), memory, and problem-solving.

对于困难任务的效应后来人们给出了这样的一种假设，耶斯基－道德森定律能够被划分成两个部分的因素。倒U型向上的部分被认为是唤醒因素的正向促进作用。而曲线另一侧向下的部分则是唤醒（压力）对于认知过程的负面效应所导致的，例如注意力，记忆力和问题解决能力等等。

There has been research indicating that the correlation suggested by Yerkes and Dodson exists (such as that of Broadhurst, 1959; Duffy, 1962; Anderson, 1988), but a cause of the correlation has not yet successfully been established (Anderson, Revelle, & Lynch, 1989).

尽管已有研究表明，耶斯基－道德森定律表明的这种相关性是确实存在的（如Broadhurst, 1959; Duffy, 1962; Anderson, 1988），但是对于这种相关产生的原因却还没有被完全发现（Anderson, Revelle, & Lynch, 1989）。

Despite some evidence to the contrary, the law is generally respected.

尽管有一些证据不支持这个定律，但总体上来说它还是被普遍认同和推崇的。