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
Get the Tinbergen trapmug.