keywords:
cognitive neuroscience
computational modeling
mathematical modeling
psychology
We present the Oscillating Field Perturbation (OFP) model, a quantum model that provides a quantitative account of the Yerkes-Dodson law concerning the relationship between arousal and performance. Inspired by neural models, OFP conceptualizes cognitive control as an oscillating field that perturbs a quantum system, and represents arousal as the gain'' induced by this field. By integrating OFP with the Multiple Particle Multiple Well (MPMW) framework, we demonstrate that OFP successfully explains how the shape of the Yerkes-Dodson law varies with task difficulty and familiarity, consistent with empirical findings. To the best of the authors' knowledge, OFP is the first model to provide a unified account of the empirical variations in the shape of the Yerkes-Dodson law.