xxxxxxix) Inverted U

Not understanding the "inverted U" concept, ie more is not necessarily better; it can make things worse. It is all about limits. It is linked to the s-curve (see earlier). It has 4 stages, ie

- stage 1 (relation is linear);

- stage 2 (relation levels off, ie area of diminishing marginal returns);

- stage 3 (extra resources have no effect on the outcome);

- stage 4 (more resources are counterproductive).

In graphical terms it looks like

The same strategy that works well at first stops working after a certain point. Some examples

i) happiness v. income, ie in USA happiness improves with initially increasing income but peaks at US $75,000 and then decreases

ii) arousal v. performance, ie right amount of arousal maximises performance but too much arousal can reduce performance

iii) alcohol v. health, ie a small amount of alcohol is good for you, while too much is bad for your health