Vicarious reinforcement: Expected and unexpected effects.
Praising only the peer can backfire—also reinforce the observing child to keep their performance up.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kids watched a peer get praised for doing puzzles. Then they tried the same puzzles.
Researchers tracked how the observer kids performed over time.
What they found
At first, watching praise lifted the observers' scores. Later, their scores dropped below where they started.
Giving the observers some praise again fixed the drop.
How this fits with other research
Whitehead et al. (1975) showed that a quick verbal prompt like "Look how Johnny is sitting" turns teacher approval into a class-wide boost. The 1983 study shows what happens when you skip that prompt and only praise the peer.
Thomas et al. (1968) proved that teacher praise cuts disruptive behavior. The new twist here is that the same praise can quietly hurt the kids who are only watching.
Jimenez-Gomez et al. (2024) found that, in children with autism, conditioned praise helps keep old skills alive but does not teach new ones. Both papers warn that praise has limits: it maintains or even depresses performance unless you also reinforce the observer.
Why it matters
If you praise only the working child, the watching child may first try harder, then give up. Mix in praise or tokens for the observers, or use group contingencies, to keep everyone's performance steady.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects on one child of observing another child receive direct social reinforcement. In the first part of the study, pairs of same-sex children worked on puzzles for three sessions spaced 2 to 3 days apart. One child was praised on a continuous schedule for performance, whereas the other received no praise. Although children who observed other children being praised increased their performance initially (as predicted by vicarious reinforcement and social comparison hypotheses), their performance decreased over time, reaching levels below their own baseline rates. In the second part of the study, intermittent praise delivered to the observing child was examined as a potential strategy to reverse the unexpected effects obtained in the first part of the study. Intermittent praise was found to be effective in reducing these effects and in producing enhanced performance. Individual data, as well as group data, are presented. Results are discussed in light of theoretical and applied issues related to the use of vicarious reinforcement in applied settings.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1983 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1983.16-485