FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATM)Human Factors and CRMHard
A flight instructor explains to a new captain that pilot performance is not simply 'more stress equals worse performance.' Instead, performance actually improves as stress/arousal rises from very low levels, peaks at a moderate level, and then declines sharply as stress becomes excessive. This relationship is best described by:
- AThe Yerkes-Dodson law (inverted-U stress-performance curve)
- BThe startle effect
- CPlan continuation bias
- DAutomation complacency
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. The Yerkes-Dodson law (inverted-U stress-performance curve)
The Yerkes-Dodson law describes an inverted-U relationship between arousal/stress and performance: too little stress leads to boredom and poor performance, moderate stress produces optimal performance, and excessive stress overwhelms cognitive resources and degrades performance. This is a foundational human factors concept for understanding stress management in the cockpit.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. The startle effect is a sudden acute reaction to an unexpected stimulus, not a general stress-performance model.
- C. Plan continuation bias is about sticking with an original plan, unrelated to arousal levels.
- D. Automation complacency concerns over-reliance on automated systems, not a stress-performance curve.
Yerkes-Dodson Law (Stress-Performance Curve)
A model showing that performance is optimal at moderate arousal/stress levels, and declines at both very low and very high levels.
- Shaped like an inverted U on a graph
- Too little stress causes complacency/boredom
- Too much stress causes cognitive overload and tunnel vision
Memory trick: Picture an upside-down U: too little or too much stress tanks your performance, moderate stress is the sweet spot.