An example of mediated reinforcement is when you emit the vocal response “water” and someone then presents you with a glass of water, and this tends to increase or maintain your tendency to say “water” whenever water would currently be reinforcing. The key is that the reinforcement was provided by the actions of another individual.
A stimulus change that has the following features:
It occurs after a response has been emitted
It increases the future probability of that response
It results from the action of another individual