#yerkes-dodson curve

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

@dapsenlumber

Maybe Jake is average but crumbles under pressure. The basketball tryouts are the biggest thing of his life to date and he can’t handle it

So true.  Because that’s part of the point of Jake, that he’s the least talented guy on this untalented team while also excelling at meeting the challenges thrown his way.  He says his talents lie in basketball and video games — only he can’t make his junior high team as an eighth-grader, and regularly loses at video games to a less-experienced Marco.  That’s not to say he remains that untalented throughout the series; 10 pages later he’s insta-coordinating how he and his friends can maximize their ability to escape a horde of controllers, while running from said controllers.  100 pages after that and he’s directing battle strategy based on a combination of paying attention and winging it.

Anyway, what if he’s getting screwed by the Yerkes (no relation) Dodson Curve?

He’s just wildly mis-calibrated to how hard he should be trying to get on the basketball team, because it’s the hardest thing he’s ever tried to do so far.  This kid thinks he’s “invincible” (#4) and climbs construction cranes for fun (#1).

As @derinthescarletpescatarian​ and @andalitean​ put it: “Jake is the plain mashed potato of the Animorphs.”/ “He isn’t even mashed at first he’s just a boiled potato (the trauma is what mashes him)” (X).  Which is the perfect description of Jake.  He does rise to the occasion, but his actual superpowers are confidence, fast reaction time, faking ‘til you make it, and following the little rules so that no one notices you breaking the big ones.  And at first, that confidence is the kind that comes from the assumption nothing really bad will ever happen to him because nothing ever has.  He has to take a lot of hard knocks before he properly understands when to dig in and when to quit.

[soysaucevictim]

I'm just thinking abt the HPA axis some more again. It's basically the hormonal cascade/sequence that makes you produce more stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. (Stands for hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal.)

Chronic stress often worsens when you're just swimming in those hormones, unable to tamp 'em down or direct them somewhere useful/fun.

One reason why exercise is very helpful there is like...

Imagine you're a car, the brake peddle is jank. You're in a hurry and you have no idea where the fuck you're going. That's kinda the runaway feeling of it. All you feel you can do is lead foot the gas pedal (sympathetic nervous system.)

Management skills/tools (like exercise) helps to fix your brake pedal (parasympathetic nervous system) and slow shit down and use just enough gas to get you from point A to B. Finding that steady/appropriate Goldilocks zone is a more efficient way to burn through those hormones and get back to equilibrium (or at least get as close to that as feasible).

[uglylittleflea]

Logan: Having one lazy day a week can help you to stay in the potimum area of the Yerkes-Dodson Curve

Remus: So just think how great it would be with 7 lazy days a week!

Logan: flames

Logan: on the sides of my face

[tss-storytime]

Writer-Artist Matches for 2024 TSS Storytime!

We are excited to announce the writers and artists for this year's TSS Storytime Big Bang!

Writer: @glacierruler, Artist: @thebestworstidea

Writer: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest, Artist: @ax3-e0ns

Writer: @starshineandbooks, Artist: @ax3-e0ns

Writer: @greenninjagal-blog, Artist: @dragonsarecats

Writer: @c-swirlz, Artist: @greymillieattheball

Writer: @canvas-the-florist, Artist: @tastic-in-its-finest

Writer: @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat, Artist: @canvas-the-florist

Writer: @sleepy-nova-tea, Artist: @failing-at-failing

Writer: @thewickedcompanion, Artist: @bitterpoison

Writer dropped

Writer: @typically-untypical, Artist: @failing-at-failing

Writer: @not-sure-what-im-feeling, Artist: @thebestworstidea

Writer: @nandysparadox, Artist: @bitterpoison

Writer: @pandagobrr, Artist: @tastic-in-its-finest

Writer: @thebestworstidea, Artist: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest

Writer: @jack-enbyfold, Artist: @canvas-the-florist

Writer: @annaizscribbling, Artist: @onthevirgeofdestruction

Writer: @logarhythm-bees, Artist: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest

Writer: @wolfprincesszola, Artist: @thebestworstidea

Writer: @shadowling-guistical, Artist: @thegoldenduckie

Writer: @yerkes-dodson-curve, Artist: @failing-at-failing

Writer: @infinitesimal-dna, Artist: @logarhythm-bees

Writer: @katelyn-a-fan, Artist: @incognetomisquito

Writer: @emo-princey, Artist: @thegoldenduckie

Writer: @groovieghostie, Artist: @logarhythm-bees

Stories and art post in August!

[vampypurplequ33n]

HAPPY 8 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SANDERS SIDESS!!

I wish I could do more for this anniversary celebration but I have to go somewhere today and probably won’t have time to draw anything special. However, this is what I have time for since sanders sides was literally one half of my childhood and I recently got back into the hyperfixation of it. I love each of these characters to death and I’ll explain each of them in detail during this post <3

Logan: He is the best “teacher” ever! I wish he got more love from the other Sides, but the fandom definitely makes up for it. He’s a sucker for Crofters, got me into that jame btw, and he helped me learn a lot of new things! During one of my classes a teacher asked if anyone knew what a “Yerkes-Dodson Curve” was and let me tell you how I raised my hand so fast…. LOGAN MY BOI WE ALL LOVE YOU😭😭

Roman: The Man, the Prince, the Legend. He is so flamboyant I love him for that. He is the embodiment of “drama queen” and he definitely deserves that title. I loved this man to D E A T H since day one. I feel like half of me is literally his personality, and since I’m also insecure it checks out pretty well! If I was forced to only draw one Side for the REST of my life, it would be Roman in a heartbeat.

Patton: HES THE BIGGEST PUFFBALL WEVE GOT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AND EVERY CAN AGREE HES AMAZING AND OMFG HES SO ADORABLE AND EVERY BAD THING THAT HAPPENED TO HIM THAT HE COULDNT CONTROL SHOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED AND I ONLY WISH THE BEST FOR HIM AND HE DESERVES ALL THE COOKIES IN THE WORLD OMGGGGGGGGG- Ahem, aside all that… I do love Patton! He is like the father I wish I could have, and the childhood imaginary friend you had what you were a toddler as well! I love you to bits Patton!

Virgil: He’s a fan favorite, which is understandable. A ton of people deal with anxiety, and a lot of people love the color purple. I.. am in that group but in a slightly insane level- Not the anxiety part that’s being dealt with, but the P U R P L E. He’s my favorite BECAUSE he’s purple. When he was just black I didn’t really like him THAT much, but I saw the appeal. Once he got the purple tho, I LOVED THAT MAN. He really is a big fan favorite and I understand why. Plus he’s a silly little emo gay, who doesn’t like that?

Janus: MY SASSY BOII!!! We love to see him! We all know he loves wine, we all know he definitely needs some validation, and our boy deserves a hug. We love him, and as the saying goes “She is beauty, she is grace, she will lie right to your face.” And he is also the embodiment of…. “Girlboss, gatekeep, gaslight <3” And all of this is the truth, which is definitely gonna mess with him a lil bit :3

Remus: How do you describe your love of a character without it getting to redundant? I love this fucking trashy rat man to death and nothing will change my god damn mind. HES SO SCRUNKLY I LOVE HIM!!! HE IS THE ELBODIMENT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF ME, IM BEING DEADASS RIGHT NOW. I WILL ACTUALLY KEEP RANTING AND RANTING ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS GOD FORSAKEN MAN. I WILL FUCKING KILL FOR HIM (if he doesn’t do it first) His outfit, his personality, HIS FUCKING MACE. HE IS THE EMBODIMENT OF CHAOS AND I LIVE FOR IT!!

Thomas: Him. Just, Him. He deserves all the love this world can possibly give him and more. Whenever he posts is always, and I mean ALWAYS during a troubling part of my life. And he can get me through any bad days I may be having. I swear this guy knows when we are sad and posts RIGHT when that happens and it brings a chuckle to us, making the day MUCH BETTER. He is an inspiration, a goal, a dream, a PARENTAL FIGURE to most of the community and I want him to know that.

@thatsthat24 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOR SANDERS SIDES YOU DESERVE ALL OF THE GIFTS AND LOVE THIS COMMUNITY HAS GIVEN YOU!!!!

[local-space-case]

doing homework for my stress management class and this chapter is focused on the Yerkes-Dodson Curve and it just hit me at how influential @thatsthat24 was to my interest in psychology

13 year old me loved every fanart friday and watched every video over and over again and now sophomore college me is reading my textbook in logan’s voice to keep me interested…you never stop being 13 lmao

[an-organized-confusion]

I think a good basis to good anxiety management strategies is to figure out how to have a neutral/nuanced relationship with the faculty. Don't outright vilify it and hate it, meet it where its at and as the situation dictates.

It's an ooold af part of animals with brains, for a reason.

I loved how Logan brought up the Yerkes-Dodson curve - since at a baseline, during complex tasks you really want to keep things at a manageable Goldilocks Zone, yeah?

One of the main exceptions to this curve? SIMPLE, but URGENT tasks. The the stuff that you really just gotta kick your own ass to get done- no overthinking or waffling. (Frankly I think that can be the basis of june-bugging, yeah cleaning your living space can be intimidating. But this headspace usually happens when your anxiety hits at just the right time to get you to just START cleaning stuff.)

ANYWAYS. I was rambling how this latter mode VERY much highlights Virgil's role to light a fire under everyone's ass (or just shortcut centrally to c!Thomas, minimal input from others.)

This to say, I had an amusing lil exchange w/ @milkhoney531 about:

Me: just imagining the guy threatening the other sides w/ a can of body spray and a lighter or just skips the other sides - effective slamming on the HPA cascade onto c!thomas the big red Oh Fuck Button i just have mental image of pre-aa v chasing c!thomas down mercilessly w/ the improvised flame thrower now Him: Pffft! Yes. Remus absolutely gave him the idea. It was the 1st and last time Janus took a nap while those two were conscious. The real reason Virgil left the dark sides, Janus's sanity. Boy has all those arms to mainly tangle Remus, but they're too powerful together.

[clinically-obssessed]

Are Logan & Janus Two Sides of the Same Coin?

In "Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts," it is revealed that Remus is Roman's "dark" counterpart. But who is Janus' "light" counterpart? It is certainly possible that he doesn't have one. But given how much emphasis is put into the symmetry between the "dark" & "light" sides (same number in each, black vs white clothing, etc), as well as the similarities within these groups (the naming conventions, for instance), it seems likely that Janus is somehow connected to one of the others. Following the example of Roman and Remus, both brothers are responsible for creativity, but Roman's creativity is deemed to be good and pure, whereas Remus' creativity is deemed dark and disturbing. Therefore, Janus and his counterpart would likely share the same fundamental trait as well, though their manifestations of it would be different. On this basis, I will argue that Logan and Janus are connected by the trait of reason, and that Janus is a "dark side" because he uses reason in a way that is cynical and self-interested.

First, let us compare Logan and Janus' style of argumentation. Logan typically references scientific studies and concepts, such as the Yerkes-Dodson Curve and the statistic about Christmas decorations that appears in "Putting Others First" to name only a few. This demonstrates his highly empirical world view, and from these empirical observations he draws normative conclusions about what Thomas ought to do. One of Logan's biggest emphases is on Thomas's health, as demonstrated in "Why Do We Get Out Of Bed In The Morning?"

On the other hand, Janus focuses on philosophical arguments, referencing Kant, Stirner, and Nietzsche to make his points. Though Janus is less interested in scientific facts, he still demonstrates logic in his own way, as these philosophers all used rational arguments to support their conclusions (note: whether or not you agree with them, what I mean by "rational" is that they applied the rules of logic to their premises to construct their philosophies). Janus has also been described as representing self-preservation, an aim not too dissimilar to Logan's goal of promoting Thomas' health. After all, Janus explicitly argued in favor of Thomas's mental health in "Putting Others First."

With all of this being said, it is worth noting that the flexibility and ambiguity of philosophy allows Janus to use logic as a tool to suit his needs in the moment. To put it in the words of Renee Descartes, "there is nothing so strange and little believable that it has not been said by one of the philosophers." Furthermore, "Selfishness vs Selflessness" draws attention to the contradictions between Stirner's belief in equality and his racism, suggesting that philosophers are often hypocritical and cannot necessarily be trusted. This is what makes Janus a "dark" side - he too has the capability to reason, but rather than pursuing the noble goal of truth, he uses his powers to manipulate others and further his own ends.

Given this reading, it is significant that in "Selfishness vs Selflessness," Logan is the one to mention Peter Singer, a contemporary philosopher. This further reinforces the hidden similarities between the two. Throughout the entire series, the only other side to use philosophical arguments is Janus, so for Logan to reference a philosopher in support of one of his own arguments suggests that he recognizes a certain logic to them as well (even if it is not his default method of logic). Moreover, Janus' adoption of the more science-based mental health rhetoric in the same episode shows that this parallel goes both ways.

This opens up a new avenue for speculation: who is Patton's "dark" counterpart? There are two possibilities: Virgil and the yet-to-be-revealed Orange Side. I will now discuss the evidence and implications of both:

Virgil: It is undeniable that Virgil and Patton share a unique bond. This can be seen throughout the episodes, and it would feed into the idea that Virgil is Patton's (formerly) "dark" counterpart. The trait that both share in common is feelings - while Patton's feelings are generally quite positive with some negative ones slipping through (see Moving on), Virgil is largely negative with a few positive emotions occasionally showing. However, if Virgil is the "dark" side of Patton, it is not clear what it means for him to have joined the "light" sides or what makes him special in that regard. Perhaps it can be explained as a result of Patton's morality -- he is ultimately who dictates which sides are good or bad, so if he took a personal liking to Virgil, he would see Virgil as good and thus Virgil would "become light."

Orange: Fans have speculated rather plausibly that the orange side will represent rage/anger, which would work well with this theory. This would be another instance of emotions "gone wrong" so to speak, as one emotion that Patton (and by extension Thomas) never seems to show is anger. Anger has a certain capacity for destructiveness, so this could be why the orange side is considered "dark." If orange was Patton's counterpart, this would leave Virgil without any counterpart, suggesting that he occupies an unusual role within Thomas' psyche and is perhaps the sole "neutral" side.

There is, of course, a third possibility: that orange & Virgil are counterparts, and that Patton is the one who is exceptional. Maybe Patton's role as the arbiter of morality means that he occupies a privileged position in Thomas's psyche which cannot easily be inverted (after all, what would be the purpose in a side that makes Thomas evil for no reason?)

Anyway, what do you guys think?

[roman-is-a-gay]

I decided to return to sanders sides and rewatch all of it since I drifted away from it a couple of years ago, and Im struck with how much this series has had an influence over me and how many places I’ve made references to it over the years

Here’s a few I’ve discovered/remembered so far:

- I dressed up as Roman for my last day of ninth grade

- One of my riot accounts is named Squareroot of Scared after the iconic Logan line

- The Yerkes Dodson curve!! This is where I first learned about it, so I knew what a lecturer was talking about when she introduced it a couple years later, I remember being so proud of myself for that one lmao

- One of my dnd characters once got a pet dragon and I named him Wroamin (this one was the biggest punch in the gut when I watched the selflessness vs selfishness video, I had cOMPLETELY forgotten that joke lmao)

There’s probably more, but I just haven’t realised them yet lmao

[victory-cookies]

intro to psych is great bc, having seen all of sanders sides about eighty times, I already kind of know half the things she brings up. She showed us the arousal optimization theory for motivation and I’m just like omg it’s the yerkes dodson curve. cool I already have this down

[transfemlogan]

to add to the 'ducking out' saga: i always saw virgil 'ducking out' as an extended hypothetical. to me, it's like when logan brings up the importance / prominence of lying / deceit's role in the end of 'can lying be good'. i don't remember the full quote, but it was something like 'everyone lies a lot all the time and it's almost impossible to avoid.'

ANYWAY virgil ducking out was like .. a thought experiment i guess? basically i imagine logan bringing out than yerkes-dodson curve, going 'can you imagine what would happen with no anxiety at all?' and boom bam thomas starts imaging the scenario. it's less of a 'oh that literally happened to c!thomas' and more of an in-universe 'it was all a dream.' like with that 'five years later' video where he went 'wouldn't it be crazy if this happened .. cut to it happening'

which to be clear. 'it was all a dream' is not good writing! it still sucks! but it's how i justify it to myself. otherwise it makes no fucking sense man

OK THAT ... THATS A COOL THEORY I LIKE THAT

Thomas was like "oh my god it WOULD be bad if i didnt have anxiety!" & then decided 2 accept him /J

[soysaucevictim]

Brain is just thinking about neurology again. More Autonomic Nervous System Stuff.

So like, it's split into sympathetic and parasympathetic. Real deep wiring, that is often not consciously engaged. For day-to-day things, both need to be acting in a balanced way, for overall health and functioning reasons.

(See also: Yerkes-Dodson Curve.)

SNS is the 3/4Fs - fight, flight, freeze, (and fawn - tho I think fawn requires more upstairs brain action to employ as easily/effectively than the other three, imo.) It can crank up your heart and breath rate. It shunts bloodflow away from the guts and immune system and can release stored sugars (glycogen) into the blood - all to fuel the muscles you may need to to Deal With Perceived Threat. It's the nervous system's gas pedal, basically.

It's funky thinking about Virgil being extremely connected to the SNS (especially fight/flight/freeze), just a sort of primal brain function and set of pathways. He's definitely the one Side that's closest to said gas pedal, practically partially fused to it. (Janus may be second-closest, as the other main self-pres function here. Think he's more about the fawn response.)

PNS is "rest and digest". When the coast is clear, it slows everything back down. Let you settle with your food, better absorb the nutrients and tucking what it can away. Lets your immune system to do whatever bodily repair and protection functions as it's supposed to. (Why chronic stress gives you GI troubles, CV probs, increase vulnerability to infectious disease & cancer, and slow down wound healing.) The nervous system's brake pedal.

(Mammalian Diving Reflex is a way to stimulate the brakes a bit, why splashing face with cold water can help!)

And I'm just thinking Remy probably reps this set of functions.

This is just me imagining Virgil/Andy just having a mutual beef with Remy/Sleep. And Logan/Logic is there and is So Tired.

[unknownorigins-uo]

she yerkes on my dodson til i bell curve

[queen-in-white]

@jeremywhere @secretaryoflogicaldefense @musicalfan78 @rose-thorn @wobblystrawberry @wiggog-y-wrath @christianchasity @paul-matthewsccrp23 @the-bastards-box @notanerdyprude @yerkes-dodson-curve

my moots please accept my hugs

do care + did ask + im hugging you + im hugging you + im hugging you + im hugging you + im hugging you

[an-organized-confusion]

Mental health's seen better days.

Just thinking abt antidepressants and their indications for depression and anxiety.

And well how both of those things have been on my charts for like an entire decade at this point. Been on a few meds for it, plus therapy, has helped me a lot in dealing with Life in general.

Just thinking about c!Thomas having one/both MH issues and getting medication support.

Thinking about what Virgil represents (on his bad days) and that one Apathy!Roman AU (which depression is often felt as nothing, not even really just sadness sometimes) floating around. (Or the fact Gymrat!Roman struggles with depression.)

Just like the idea of confronting the misconceptions that these medications will destroy anxiety or creativity. I like the idea of Virgil being able to operate in a healthy manner (within that there Yerkes-Dodson curve area, expanding the tolerances for stress a bit too). I like the idea that Roman has a BETTER time conjuring up art stuff when he's not wasting precious energy clawing himself out of Depression Sludge to even function.

I feel like there's a Prinxiety fic somewhere in that, platonic or otherwise (to say nothing on impacts on the remaining Sides).