What is the Inverse U Theory or Inverse U Phenomena?
To the right is a diagram of the Inverse U Theory. (View a larger image in a Popup Window) Performance is low when arousal is too low and performance is low when arousal is too high. As you can see from the diagram performance is best when you are aroused some, but not too much. In sports we say a performer wasnt up for the game or perhaps they were too tight. Choking in big game situations occurs at the right end of the graph. Doing poorly on the Praxis Exams can come from too much test anxiety and would occur at the right end of the graph.
