In an era of neuropsychological manipulation, plaintiff reptile tactics are particularly proficient in eliciting nuclear settlements. Reptile attacks are used by plaintiff attorneys to compel defense witnesses into delivering damaging testimony with the ultimate goal of rendering settlements or verdicts with exceedingly high damage awards. 

The reptile methodology at a deposition is an intense neurocognitive manipulation attack designed to unwittingly trap a defense witness into admitting malfeasance or negligence. While this strategy was developed with plaintiff attorneys in mind, defense attorneys can equip their witnesses to first identify and then avoid perilous reptile attacks through sophisticated psychological training. 

Courtroom Sciences knows that providing witnesses with advanced training, consisting of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional components, has proven to be highly disruptive to plaintiff attorneys who attempt to force a nuclear settlement or verdict by utilizing reptile attacks. Our psychology experts deliver sophisticated psychology-based witness training that helps witnesses thwart plaintiff reptile attacks.

How can my witness avoid reptile attacks?

Reptile attorneys skillfully employ emotional and psychological tactics to manipulate witnesses into admitting fault. The effectiveness of reptile attacks is primarily due to lack of preparation, as traditional witness preparation does not equip witnesses for how to counter neuropsychological manipulation. However, witnesses can learn to avoid reptile attacks through sophisticated neurocognitive training from behavioral experts. Anti-reptile training from Courtroom Sciences can help prevent your witness from making errors that can devastate your case and create dangerous economic vulnerabilities. 

Identify Reptile Questions 

During the reptile theory of questioning, the plaintiff attorney is attempting to manipulate a witness to try to get them to completely agree to some very general questions, such as safety rule questions or danger rule questions. The phrasing and structure of these questions can cleverly lull a witness into a state of complacency. Overwhelmingly, a witness will instinctually agree to these questions as they support their highly-reinforced beliefs that safety is always paramount and that danger should always be avoided. 

However, what they fail to recognize is that they are inadvertently entrenching themselves deeply into an absolute, inflexible stance that omits circumstances and judgment. Then, after agreeing unconditionally to these questions, the questioner will transition into questions about case facts, questions that will completely contradict the reptilian answers. This is what traps the witness, creating a hypocrisy effect. Reptile attorneys use four devastating psychological weapons against defendant witnesses: Confirmation Bias, Anchoring Bias, Cognitive Dissonance, and the Hypocrisy Paradigm. The combination of these powerful psychological tactics does not merely influence witnesses; rather, it controls them.

Without a witness's initial agreement to safety and danger rules, the ensuing questions become ineffective, and oftentimes the questioner will give up and move on with their questioning. Identifying and then avoiding reptile questions requires intense cognitive effort by the witness. The psychology experts at Courtroom Sciences can help train witnesses to identify reptilian questions and avoid absolute agreement.

Avoid Reptile Attacks

The economic risks presented by reptile attacks are enormous, making preventing these attacks a top priority for defense attorneys. One of the primary reasons that reptile attacks have been extremely effective is a lack of awareness. The most important factor in avoiding reptile attacks, and preventing the plaintiff’s counsel from taking control of the trajectory of the case, is thorough preparation.

Witnesses cannot be faulted for damaging testimony due to reptile attacks, as this theory employs both emotional and psychological tactics to manipulate them into admitting fault. Rather, their mistakes are caused by inadequate pre-deposition preparation. 

Traditional witness prep does not prepare witnesses for manipulative reptile questions. However, advanced witness training methods have been developed and implemented by Courtroom Sciences to modify witnesses’ cognitive patterns, making them resistant to reptile attacks. It is critical to prepare these witnesses early, putting them through a sophisticated, scientific, psychology-based training program that focuses on the intricacies of the reptile strategy and, specifically, how to thwart these perilous attacks.

At Courtroom Sciences, we know that reptile attacks are designed with one primary objective, to generate nuclear settlements and verdicts by manipulating the defendant witness into delivering damaging testimony. All it takes is a single ineffective witness to disproportionately impact settlement and trial outcomes, resulting in monetary awards that far exceed expectations. 

Prevent your witness from making errors that can derail your case by preparing them with Courtroom Sciences’ proven neurocognitive witness effectiveness training program. Discover how our expertise in human behavior prediction and modification, combined with scientific methodology, leads to predictive results and superior litigation outcomes. Speak with one of our experts to get started. 

Key Takeaways

●  Reptile attacks are used to compel defense witnesses into delivering damaging testimony.

●  Created for plaintiff attorneys, reptile tactics are particularly proficient in eliciting nuclear settlements and verdicts.

●  Witnesses can learn to avoid reptile attacks through sophisticated neurocognitive training from behavioral experts.

●  Courtroom Sciences can help witnesses thwart plaintiff reptile attacks through a psychology-based witness training program.