A "vicarious experience" refers to a situation where you are not directly involved in an activity or event, but you can still imagine or feel what it would be like by observing or listening to someone else's firsthand account of it. Full definition
«One possibility is that infants» sensitivity to pleasant touch stems from direct or vicarious experience of differing levels of social touch as a function of their caregiver's sensitivity to social touch,» explains Fairhurst. (sciencedaily.com)
Though targeted professional development principals learned how to identify and celebrate mastery experiences; provide vicarious experiences by either modeling instructional strategies themselves, or having others in the school model and demonstrate their expertise; collect relevant classroom data and provide specific nonjudgmental feedback to teachers (eobservations.com)
«Capacity for vicarious experiences is a fundamental aspect of human social behaviour. (sciencedaily.com)