Overcorrection: A Procedural Evaluation

Abstract

Recently overcorrection has been used to discourage inappropriate behaviors and encourage appropriate behaviors of severely and profoundly handicapped people. This procedure has combined verbal reprimands, verbal instructions, and manual guidance (if necessary) and dictates that an offender “overcorrect” his misbehavior. Two types of overcorrection training have been reported – restitutional overcorrection, in which the individual restores a disturbed setting or situation to a state vastly improved from that existing prior to the disruption, and positive practice overcorrection, requiring that the individual practice appropriate modes of responding several times following inappropriate behavior. This paper reviews the components of overcorrection, the rationale for its use, the two types of overcorrection training reported, the levels of instructional assistance, and some common misinterpretations. And it suggests extensions to the vocational and social development of the severely/profoundly handicapped.