Positive practice overcorrection. Effects of reinforcing correct performance.
Reinforce unprompted correct steps during 30-second positive practice to speed skill gain without losing behavior reduction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with adults who have intellectual disability.
They compared two kinds of positive practice overcorrection.
One group got praise or tokens for each correct practice.
The other group practiced the same way but got no rewards.
Both groups kept doing the overcorrection steps until they got it right.
What they found
Reinforced practice taught the new skill faster.
Stereotypy dropped just as much, or more, in the reinforced group.
In short, adding rewards sped learning without hurting behavior reduction.
How this fits with other research
McGee et al. (1983) showed shorter 30-second practice works as well as long drills.
The 1986 study keeps that short drill and adds reinforcement to make it even better.
Zhi et al. (2024) seems to disagree—they found praise added nothing to listener responses.
The difference is procedure: Zhi used quick discrete trials, while G used long overcorrection chains.
When practice lasts minutes, not seconds, reinforcement keeps people engaged and cuts errors.
Hemayattalab et al. (2010) also boosted skill in people with ID by layering mental rehearsal before physical trials.
Together, the papers say: keep practice brief, add something to keep the learner active—either imagery or rewards.
Why it matters
You can keep the 30-second rule from McGee et al. (1983) and still get faster gains.
Just deliver a quick token, praise, or edible the moment the resident does the correct step without help.
You save time, reduce frustration, and maintain the stereotypy suppression you want.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Two studies of retarded adults residing in an institutional setting were performed to examine the results of reinforcement of correct practice of an appropriate behavior during positive practice. In each study specific motor tasks were trained using incidents of stereotypic behavior as the cue to begin positive practice of the motor task. Study I compared standard positive practice, without reinforcement, with a variant using reinforcement for unprompted correct practice. Correct performance of the task outside positive practice was reinforced in both conditions. Reinforcing correct positive practice yielded faster training of the motor task and an equivalent reduction of stereotypic behavior. Study II compared a condition in which reinforcement was available during both positive practice and regular task practice with a condition in which it was available in neither. Reinforcement produced superior effects for both acquisition and reduction, and produced fewer undesirable side effects. Possible applications of results and limitations of the study are also discussed.
Behavior modification, 1986 · doi:10.1177/01454455860101005