Much has been written about concerns related to adolescents’ use of TikTok and its impact on their health and safety. For example, The Benadryl Challenge involves children filming themselves taking massive amounts of Benadryl. This challenge ultimately led to the death of a 13-year-old. [1] 

A question that parents, school administrators, and public officials often ask is, “Why? Why would a child knowingly engage in such dangerous behaviors?” One possible answer lies in the reinforcement these adolescents receive in the form of “likes,” “shares,” and “followers” on the platform. This reinforcement releases dopamine, a chemical secreted in the brain when it expects a reward. Similarly, dopamine is released by the individuals “liking” and “sharing” the videos because they are connecting with others on social media.[2]  It appears that social media platforms such as TikTok, X (formerly Twitter,) and Facebook have monetized their understanding of this relationship between “likes” and dopamine release. 

The power of reinforcing behaviors is not a new phenomenon, however. This is something that has been long studied by social psychologists, such as B.F. Skinner’s pioneering work on operant conditioning. [3] 

Operant conditioning is a psychological theory that explains how behavior (i.e., an operant) can be influenced and modified through positive or negative consequences. Decades of research have supported the idea that providing rewards or punishments can effectively shape behaviors. It can be applied to various contexts, from classroom instruction and parenting to legal proceedings. It thus behooves attorneys to understand the basic principles of operant conditioning, particularly when working with witnesses.

This article will examine operant conditioning in the context of civil litigation, including how operant conditioning can be useful when preparing witnesses for deposition and trial testimony and how opposing counsel may attempt to use operant conditioning to their advantage. Understanding what plaintiff’s counsel is doing can help defense attorneys prepare their witnesses to withstand the tactics employed by opposing counsel.  

Operant Conditioning: The Basics

Operant conditioning is primarily based on two principles: reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement can be further broken down into positive or negative elements. Positive reinforcement involves providing a reward or desirable consequence following a behavior to increase the future likelihood of that behavior. For example, a schoolteacher gives her students gold stars (i.e., reward) for following directions (i.e., desirable behavior). Conversely, negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus following a behavior. For example, an individual will get out of bed (i.e., desirable behavior) to shut off an alarm clock to eliminate the loud buzzing noise (i.e., the aversive stimulus).  Whether positive or negative in nature, both types of reinforcement aim to strengthen a specific behavior and increase the likelihood of repeating that behavior.

The punishment aspect of operant conditioning involves applying an aversive consequence or removing a desirable stimulus. Examples of punishment include receiving a speeding ticket (i.e., applying an aversive consequence) or a child losing privileges (i.e., removing a desirable stimulus). The goal of punishment is to weaken a specific behavior and decrease the likelihood of it occurring again. 

Through operant conditioning, individuals learn to associate their behavior with certain outcomes, and they adjust their actions based on the rewards or consequences they experience. The timing, consistency, and appropriateness of reinforcement or punishment are crucial in shaping and modifying behavior, however.[4] If you reinforce or punish a given behavior after a significant period, the individual generally does not make the connection between the behavior and the outcome. For example, there is usually a large gap in time between when a crime is committed and when the offender is given a prison sentence. The large gap between the behavior (i.e., the crime) and the punishment (i.e., prison sentence) does not provide a strong enough association for the offender to decrease the likelihood of future criminal behavior. This is one reason (albeit minor) why almost 44% of criminals released end up returning to prison within their first year. [5] 

In addition, reinforcement and punishment achieve greater results when initially applied consistently.[6]  For example, a teacher gives their students a gold star every time the student engages in a desirable behavior – this is referred to as continuous reinforcement. As a result, the student makes the connection between the behavior and the outcome. Similarly, if a criminal is punished each time they commit a crime, they will draw a strong connection between criminal behavior and punishment. After the initial connection is made, there are several other approaches to reinforcement and punishment that can be used, such as fixed interval (reinforcement is delivered after a set period of time, such as every 5 minutes) and variable ratio (reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses, such as after 1, 3, 4, and 8 responses) schedules. However, a full discussion of the various reinforcement and punishment approaches and their subsequent efficacy is outside the scope of this paper. For our purposes, we would encourage attorneys to use a continuous reinforcement and punishment schedule for witnesses because this is the best approach for acquiring new behaviors.  

Continues in part 2 next week. 

References:

[1] Wells, D. (2023, May 27). 12 dangerous TikTok challenges trending. https://www.myhighplains.com/reviews/br/education-br/parenting-br/12-dangerous-tiktok-challenges-trending/

[2] Zakaria, F. (2023, April 14). TikTok is dangerously addictive. We should regulate it now. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/14/tiktok-teens-mental-health-regulation/

[3] Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Appleton-Century.

[4] Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. Macmillan.

[5] Wisevoter. (2023). Recidivism rate by state. Retrieved from https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/recidivism-rates-by-state/

[6] University of Central Florida. (n.d.). Reinforcement schedules. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/lumenpsychology/chapter/reading-reinforcement-schedules/