Vicarious reinforcement is a form of observational learning in which an individual learns and reinforces behavior by observing the consequences of other peoples behavior and mimicking the behavior that yields the desired consequence. It involves learning through observation of the consequences of actions for other people. When a learner observes someone they identify with and the role model receives reinforcement, the learner is motivated to imitate the behavior as if they had been reinforced themselves.

Vicarious reinforcement is demonstrated in the Bobo Doll Experiment conducted by Bandura, Ross & Ross in 1963. In this experiment, children aged 2.5 - 6 years watched a film of an adult punching and shouting at a Bobo doll. The children were then left in the room with the Bobo doll, and both boys and girls produced more aggressive acts after watching the film where the model was rewarded.

Vicarious reinforcement can take place intentionally as a tool in cognitive learning, and it can also happen naturally as people observe the behavior of others. Reinforcers can encourage positive behavior, while punishers can discourage undesired behavior. Unlike direct reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement does not address a behavior directly. Instead, it involves rewarding or punishing a model, causing the observer to imitate or avoid the models behavior.

Here are some examples of vicarious reinforcement in daily life:

• A toddler learns to say "please" and "thank you" on their own because they saw their older sibling do the same and get praised for it.
• A child eats all of their lunch to get dessert because they saw their older brother eat the entire meal and was given a dessert.
• A student answers the teachers question because they saw one student praised by the teacher for doing it.

Vicarious reinforcement is a powerful psychological mechanism that allows individuals to learn by observing the behavior and experiences of others. It can help save time, as individuals do not have to directly encounter consequences before realizing their impact and potential outcomes. Vicarious reinforcement also enables positive role modeling, which is an excellent example.