Human Performance And Stress Curve Essay

When we conceptualize about learning, in a broad sense, the focus tends to be placed on understanding and retention in a normal calm setting. But what happens when stress, fear or pressure is added? How is the learning process affected? That very question sparked my curiosity in understanding how we biologically react and perform under stress. Michael Mendl (1999) outlines that when we are faced with threatening or challenging stimuli our cognitive functioning is directly affected. Discussion in class, further outlined that human performance works on a spectrum based on emotion, like that of Yerkes- Dodson Human Performance and Stress Curve. Although I had understood emotion was a component of learning, I had not taken into consideration that …show more content…
When we look at Yerkes Dodson’s Human Performance and Stress Curve we can see that if an individual is not feeling energized or focussed they are not in their peak cognitive performance. Suggesting that they are performing lower than optimal which could induce certain responses cognitively. Take for example exam situations, where timing can be as early as 9 o’clock in the morning or as late as 7 o’clock in the evening. With these variable times, which the individual has no control over, performance could be lowered. Additionally, with the stress of exams, retaining information and expected to perform well a response like fight or flight could happen. For me I found this part very compelling, as I had not registered that fight or flight could be a response to something other than a life-threatening situation. But now reflecting I can see that the four levels make sense when you apply them to the learning process and being under stress. One example that sticks out in my mind, which a peer talked about in discussion, was the blanking she had experienced during an exam situation. She listed the following four