Note that as the shaft stiffness decreases, the peak response frequency decreases while the amplitude of the peak response and the sharpness of the peak both increase. These observations are understood by noting that the decrease in shaft stiffness decreases the relative deflection of the shaft in the bearings and diminishes the magnitude of the damping forces provided by the bearings. Thus, one may conclude that the effect of damping provided by the bearings is maximized when the shaft stiffness is large relative to the bearing stiffness.