According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, the optimal arousal level for an individual's performance is

• A. moderate arousal
• B. no arousal at all
• C. very high arousal
• D. very low arousal

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the Yerkes-Dodson law, which describes the relationship between arousal and performance, suggesting that performance improves with arousal up to a point, after which it declines.
2. Recognize that the law is often illustrated as an inverted U-shaped curve, where the x-axis represents arousal level and the y-axis represents performance.
3. Identify that at very low arousal levels, performance tends to be poor because of insufficient motivation or alertness.
4. Note that at very high arousal levels, performance also declines due to stress or anxiety interfering with task execution.
5. Conclude that the optimal performance occurs at a moderate level of arousal, where the individual is alert and motivated but not overwhelmed.