by The Bam Bam dictionary September 14, 2017

by Sexy man is good January 5, 2023

by Alwera January 7, 2020

by Vhegeta April 11, 2019

Tinbergen Trap is a setup where someone uses “an exaggerated signal to trigger a natural reaction”… then punishes the person for it.
Tinbergen trap is named after scientist Niko Tinbergen, who showed animals fall for “supernormal stimuli” like giant fake eggs or female fireflies faking mating flashes to lure males to eat them.
*In human culture, it’s when influencers or clout-chasers bait attention (like filming in gyms) and then shame people for responding in completely normal ways.
Tinbergen trap & Tinbergened creation was first created by Gary Robert Frank, thefrankapproach.ca
Tinbergen trap is named after scientist Niko Tinbergen, who showed animals fall for “supernormal stimuli” like giant fake eggs or female fireflies faking mating flashes to lure males to eat them.
*In human culture, it’s when influencers or clout-chasers bait attention (like filming in gyms) and then shame people for responding in completely normal ways.
Tinbergen trap & Tinbergened creation was first created by Gary Robert Frank, thefrankapproach.ca
“That gym video was a total Tinbergen trap… she dressed for attention, then blasted the guy for looking”
“Clickbait headlines are digital Tinbergen Traps…they exaggerate just to get a reflex reaction”
“Dude, I got Tinbergened. They edited the clip to make me look like a creep”
“Clickbait headlines are digital Tinbergen Traps…they exaggerate just to get a reflex reaction”
“Dude, I got Tinbergened. They edited the clip to make me look like a creep”
by TheFrankApproach.ca October 3, 2025

A trap in reasoning or an argument, which a sensible person wouldn't fall into. There are a lot of interview questions like this that you might need to cunningly sidestep. Keep your wits about you!
Manager: I asked the usual interview questions with the standard elephant traps but they fell into each of them.
Colleague: Oh, no. Sigh.
Colleague: Oh, no. Sigh.
by jetpants October 13, 2022
