The Phenomenon of TikTok Trends

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 Have you ever caught yourself repeating a trending sound, buying something that everyone is talking about, or even attempting to learn a TikTok dance? This might be due to the idea of observational learning theory. This theory describes how people learn new behaviors just by merely watching others. On an app like TikTok, when a video goes viral, viewers may be motivated to attempt to copy it in hopes of becoming viral too. A psychological term to describe this would be vicarious reinforcement, in which a person learns a behavior by watching another person being rewarded for it.

The topic of observational learning explains exactly why trends catch on. It’s very interesting to see how fast a trend can build up and grow to which then leads to the end of it. This can even be seen with music as the start everyone loves, and then eventually, when it becomes overplayed, everyone suddenly hates it. Trends are a never-ending cycle, it feels like, as one dies off and another one is created. At the end of the day, it’s something that one can really spiral about and really wonder, “why exactly is this a trend,” or “do I really like this song I’ve heard a thousand times, or no.” Now, the next time you see a trend going viral, just know there’s a psychological reason behind the madness.

https://www.calm.com/blog/observationallearning#:~:text=Observational%20learning%20is%20the%20process,and%20skills%20without%20direct%20experience.

Comments

  1. Leila SmithJune 20, 2025 at 9:50 AM

    I do in fact find my self getting caught up in the latest TikTok trends and sounds...
    I really enjoyed how you connected the observational learning theory to a social media platform that many of us interact with on a daily basis. It is very interesting how we recreate behaviors performed by others especially when we see the huge amount of likes and comments other individuals get on social media which in turn inspires us as viewers to want to recreate their content as a means to potentially go viral as well. This helps highlight why many people are motivated to join in on these trends. And if we miss out on one trend it's only a matter of time before the next song or dance goes viral to jump in on. Overall great post!

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  2. Natalie ZimmermanJune 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM

    This is such a relatable take on observational learning! I like how you connected psychology to real-life examples like TikTok trends—it makes the concept easy to understand. Vicarious reinforcement definitely helps explain why people jump on trends so quickly. It's wild how fast something can go from fresh to overdone, and your post really captures that cycle. Great job linking theory to something so current!

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