The Role of Operant Conditioning In the Growth of Tik Tok
Tech
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March 9, 2025
TikTok, a social networking platform founded in 2016, became the most downloaded app in the US by 2018. According to Business of Apps (2024), TikTok generated $6.1 billion in revenue in 2023, marking a 67% year-on-year increase, with 1.5 billion monthly active users, expected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2024. I don’t need to be a founder in the tech space to recognize that these numbers and timelines are impressive. The question on many minds is: "How did TikTok achieve this, and how do they continue to do it?" In this essay, I’ll explain a psychological principle used by TikTok and how it has influenced much of its growth. This principle is known as “Operant Conditioning”
The General Importance of Psychology to Design
The British Psychological Society defines psychology as the study of the human mind. By "human mind," it refers to how we think, behave, and feel the way we do, and this study is applied in our everyday lives to address real-world issues. An example of psychology in real life, influenced by the study of memory (cognitive psychology), is why ATMs were redesigned to give you your card before your money. Most people go to the ATM to get cash, so they associate receiving the cash with completing the task, causing them to forget their card. On the other hand, users are less likely to leave without receiving their money. Understanding human memory, ATMs were redesigned to give you your card before your cash, as you are less likely to forget your money.
Applied user psychology is the application of psychological principles to improve the design of products and the impact they have on their users. Applied user psychology has played a key role in the evolution of digital products, from cluttered, overwhelming interfaces to minimal, human-centered interfaces that are easier to use.
Imagine having to relearn how to use an app every time you downloaded a new one. You’d have to search for basic features like the home button, the profile tab, or even the search bar. This process would not only be frustrating but might discourage you from downloading new apps altogether. Fortunately, Jakob’s Law, a psychological principle, prevents this from happening. Jakob’s Law states that users prefer interfaces that are consistent with others they are already familiar with. Familiarity fosters confidence and encourages smoother interaction with new interfaces.
However, breaking Jakob’s Law is sometimes necessary when designing interfaces that deviate from established mental models. In such cases, it's crucial to provide clear guidance to users to avoid overwhelming them.
This principle isn't limited to digital products. Imagine walking into a supermarket where the aisles change locations daily. Searching for the milk section, which is no longer where it was before, would feel unnecessarily stressful. This scenario highlights how familiarity enhances user experience, not just in apps but in real-life environments.
The importance of psychology in design cannot be overstated. It enables designers to create intuitive, user-friendly products that feel natural and reduce cognitive load. Understanding how users perceive, process, and interact with their environment is essential for crafting solutions that address user needs effectively.
Tik Tok’s Use of Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is a learning method developed by psychologist, B.F. Skinner, where behavior is shaped by its consequences. This method uses punishments and reinforcements to influence behavior: behaviors that are rewarded or reinforced are more likely to occur again, while those that are punished are less likely to recur. These consequences can take different forms, reinforcement and punishment can be positive (adding a stimulus) or negative (removing a stimulus). You’re probably wondering, "Punishments? In the 21st century?" These punishments aren’t extreme measures like burning people at the stake; they often involve removing things that our minds perceive as valuable losses, whether physical or intangible. Now, let’s relate this to TikTok.
Image showing how operant conditioning is used to reinforce or punish behaviors. (Credit: Sprouts)
Why Do People Use Tik Tok?
In a Reddit thread where people were asked why they use TikTok, many responses focused on entertainment, seeking popularity, influencer opportunities, and the potential to earn money. One thing about humans is that they tend to stick with platforms where they see results. Even when immediate rewards aren't visible, people are motivated by social proof; the tendency to be influenced by others' actions. On TikTok, this means users are encouraged to continue engaging because they see others gaining visibility and success, which fuels their own participation (Cialdini, 2009; Fogg, 2009).
The Positive Side of Things
From Tik Toks leaked algorithm document, it was realized that Tik Tok encourages consistent posting by rewarding creators with more views and engagement if they maintain regular content updates. I’ve observed TikTok users posting 4–5 times a day to align with the algorithm and maximize visibility. Tik Tok wants you to do this, so they reward you for doing this with social validation, which motivates you to continue creating content. This system creates a cycle where users rely on validation from likes, views, and comments, which reinforces frequent use of the platform. This is positive reinforcement for users who seek popularity and influencer opportunities, as well as users who seek to earn money. Social proof (Cialdini, 2009) and behavioral design (Fogg, 2009) explain how positive reinforcement and easy access to rewards strengthen this habit, encouraging users to return regularly.
For users who use the app for entertainment, the app offers a highly personalized experience. When a user engages with videos they enjoy, the platform rewards them with similar content, creating a cycle that reinforces continued use and facilitating release of dopamine. The dopamine response is triggered by the pleasure of consuming content that aligns with their interests, encouraging users to keep scrolling and interacting, which feeds the algorithm and further personalizes the content. Also the excitement of reading funny, supportive or engaging comments can create a sense of connection, social validation, or satisfaction, which reinforces continued use of the platform. This can be referred to as a dopamine driven feedback loop.
Also, the more you post, the higher your chances are of growing your account (remember, TikTok rewards consistency). The more your account grows, the more potential you have to monetize it. TikTok requires creators over 18 to have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 likes in the past 28 days to qualify for monetization. Those are big numbers but remember, the more consistent you are, the higher your chances of reaching it. As a result, you end up spending more time on the app, with small positive reinforcements guiding you toward larger rewards.
The Negatives
When you start posting less, you begin to lose your rewards. These rewards can be both physical and intangible. Physical rewards, if you've already been monetized, include earning less. Intangible rewards, if you've been growing your account, involve losing followers and the social media validation that contributed to your happiness and self-confidence. But this isn’t the only way negative reinforcement is utilized. TikTok prides itself on building a global community where everyone is welcome and safe to express themselves. As such, TikTok does not tolerate behaviors like cyberbullying, stealing content, or promoting dangerous or inappropriate material. These actions not only violate TikTok’s guidelines but also expose the platform to sanctions or penalties, which would be detrimental to the business. So, how does TikTok discourage these behaviors? They enforce negative reinforcement by actions such as deleting or restricting accounts. The potential loss of visibility and followers serves as a deterrent, discouraging users from engaging in actions that could result in consequences. This reinforces positive behavior by the threat of losing access while punishing negative behavior through the loss of access.
Conclusion
TikTok's success can be largely attributed to its effective use of psychological principles, particularly operant conditioning. The platform taps into the brain’s reward system by reinforcing desirable behaviors, such as posting content consistently, with positive feedback like likes, comments, and shares. This creates a dopamine-driven feedback loop that encourages users to keep engaging with the app, fostering increased content creation and interaction.
Moreover, TikTok’s use of negative reinforcement; such as restricting or deleting accounts, further shapes user behavior, deterring harmful activities like cyberbullying or spreading inappropriate content. These actions align with the concept of operant conditioning, where undesirable behaviors are punished to ensure compliance with community guidelines, thus protecting the platform and maintaining its global appeal.
By leveraging both positive and negative reinforcement strategies, TikTok not only fosters user engagement but also ensures a safer and more sustainable platform. The psychology behind these mechanisms is integral to its rapid growth and continued success, demonstrating how understanding human behavior can shape digital interactions and influence business outcomes.
