1. What is a token economy?
2. What must be considered when starting a token economy?
3. What is needed to set up a token economy?
4. How are consequences managed?
5. How is a token economy phased out?
6. Describe some applications of token economies to populations, target behaviours, and settings?
7. What are the benefits and problems of token economies?
How can a token economy be applied as part of an intentional community?
(Rohter, 1989; Kuhlmann, 2005)
- Comunidad Los Horcones is an experimental, intentional community located on 105 hectares in the State of Sonora, Mexico
- applies “_____________”: defined as “the natural science that studies the behavior of organisms...behaviorology encompasses basic research, applied research, and a philosophy” (Comunidad Los Horcones, 1986, p.227)
- residents have constructed a set of social rules and consequences to build and maintain a society based on cooperation and equality--not competition and discrimination
- democratic procedures used to create a detailed code of _________
- for following the code (e.g., completing required work for the community), residents earn token reinforcers
- based on ideas presented in B. F. Skinner’s (1948) novel Walden Two:
• the title references Henry David Thoreau’s (1854) book Walden, about living simply in nature
• Walden Two is like living in Walden, but “with _______”
• described a community that promoted positive social conduct and relationships
• this utopian society applied the principles of _______ conditioning to everyday life
- other communities similar to Los Horcones have been established around the world
• developed by Teodoro Ayllon and Nathan Azrin for hospitalized patients with chronic psychiatric disorders in 1961 (Ayllon & Azrin, 1968)
• _____: a conditioned reinforcer that can be given immediately after a behaviour and exchanged later for known reinforcers, called backup reinforcers
• compared with other token-based systems, token economies are:
- directed at changing the behaviours of ______ of people, not just an individual
- directed at changing a number of target behaviours
- apply complex systems to manage the ____________ of behaviours
• decide on the ______ behaviours
- identify and define the target behaviours
- depends on the problems that exist
- needs of the group members
- needs of the organization or institution implementing the program
- this is easier to do if the group members are _______ to each other
• conduct a functional assessment to determine the antecedents and consequences involved in the behaviours
• recruit _____ members to administer the program
• train staff to:
- identify the target behaviours
- modify the antecedents and consequences
- record data
- and administer the tokens
• collect ________ data
• select ______, which may be tangible or symbolic:
- poker chips
- stars or stamps on a chart
- checkmarks in a table
- entries on a data sheet
- specially printed paper money
- coinlike tokens can be given that are deposited in a device to obtain a certain amount of TV time
- _________ considerations for tokens:
▸ durable; they may have to be used for an extended period of time
▸ inexpensive
▸ convenient to transport, store, and handle
▸ readily accessible to the practitioner, and easy to dispense
▸ not _______ to the learners (e.g., avoid small items that may present a choking hazard to small children)
▸ difficult to steal or counterfeit
▸ tokens themselves should probably not be desirable objects (note: textbook suggests use of “Pennies or other coins.”)
• set up facilities
- large institutions may have a “_____” where tokens may be exchanged for backup reinforcers
• select ______ reinforcers
- identify robust reinforcers by observing people’s preferences in naturalistic settings, or on structured tests (e.g., surveys or questionnaires)
- provide a variety of reinforcers to accommodate all individuals
- decide whether to apply _____/response cost, and how
• manage consequences
- guidelines for administering tokens:
▸ deliver tokens immediately following the target behaviour
▸ deliver _______ reinforcers (like praise) along with tokens
▸ maintain accurate records of target behaviours and reinforcers dispensed
▸ give bonus rewards for high levels of performance, if possible
- behaviour change agents must monitor target behaviours, record data, and deliver tokens promptly
- decide on the ________ of reinforcement: How many tokens will a target behaviour earn?
▸ goal is to maximize performance of the target behaviour
▸ may depend on supply and demand of tasks/behaviours
▸ also influenced by each individual’s _______
- decide on the exchange rate between tokens and backup reinforcers, which depends on:
▸ number of tokens earned for a target behaviour
▸ cost of the backup reinforcer
▸ amount of supply and ______ for a particular reinforcer
▸ therapeutic relevance of a particular reinforcer
- availability of backup reinforcers
▸ for clients with intellectual disabilities or children, backup reinforcers should be delivered at the same time as tokens, to __________ the association between them
▸ availability of backup reinforcers can be reduced over time: twice a day, then only once a week, etc.
• before the client leaves the program, the token economy should be phased out
- phasing out can be started when the client is consistently successful in the program
- behaviour should be maintained by _______ contingencies
- this allows the behaviour to generalize to real-life situations
• ____ the schedule of reinforcement:
- decrease the number of tokens earned by a behaviour
- decrease the number of behaviours that are eligible for tokens
- increasing the numbers of tokens needed to exchange for a backup reinforcer
• delay reinforcement: increase time between receiving tokens and opportunities for redeeming them for backup reinforcers
• replace programmed reinforcers (tokens) with natural reinforcers
• patients in hospital with psychotic disorders
• adolescents with behavioural disorders
• children with ADHD
• students with learning disabilities
• children in grade school
• __________ students
• prison inmates
• workers in industrial settings
Some target behaviours from Achievement Place, a successful group home for “pre-delinquent” youths in Lawrence, Kansas (Phillips, 1968; Phillips et al., 1971):
• appropriate ______ behaviours
- keeping one’s person neat and clean: 500 points
- stealing, lying, or cheating: -10,000 per response
- speaking aggressively: -20 to -50 per response
• academic performance
- reading books: 5 to 10 per page
- performing homework: 500 points
- obtaining desirable grades on school report cards: 500 to 1,000 per grade
• daily living ______
- doing dishes: 500 to 1,000 per meal
- aiding the teaching-parents in various household tasks: 20 to 1,000
- being late: -10 per minute
• early “token economy” (Clay, 2001; Pitts, 1976)
- Norfolk Island penal colony, located 1,600 km off the coast of Australia
- one of the worst penal colonies; inmates had committed major crimes in both Britain and Australia
- Capt. Alexander Maconochie of the Royal British Navy was placed in charge in 1840
- instituted a “____ ______” for inmates
- points earned by performing appropriate tasks and social behaviours
- number of points required for release depended on the seriousness of the crime the inmate committed
“When a man keeps the key of his own prison, he is soon persuaded to fit it into the ____”
- despite reports of success, Maconochie’s superiors did not approve, and recalled him to England
• classrooms
- simply giving a “____ ____” for good behaviour is social reinforcement (this not a token economy unless the stars can be redeemed for backup reinforcers)
- token economies have been used in many regular and special education classrooms since the 1960s
- tokens may be earned for appropriate social behaviours or performing ________ assignments
- teachers typically award tokens, but so can aides and librarians
- tokens could be exchanged for comics, toys, etc.
- data show decreases in __________ behaviours and increases in achievement tests (Boegli & Wasik, 1978)
- improvements are maintained in some students, but performance is higher when the token economy is applied (Birnbrauer et al., 1972)
• worksites
e.g., ___ ______ manufacturer Diamond Fiber Products, Inc. (Boyle, 1987):
- used token economy to decrease absenteeism, and reduce disciplinary actions
- employees also earned tokens by making suggestions to improve safety & cut costs, and volunteering in the community
- points deducted for absences
- employees can exchange 50 points for items from a catalog
- upon earning 100 tokens, employees receive a jacket with the company logo
- results: in the first year, productivity increased 14.7%, then by an average of 2.7% per year
e.g., open-pit mining (Fox et al., 1987):
- implemented token economy to improve mine safety
- tokens earned for avoiding injury or making safety suggestions
- used _______ ______ given with paycheque as tokens
- stamps could be exchanged at stores for hundreds of items, like a spice rack, bowling ball, or gas grill
- results: work-related injuries declined
• institutional settings
- applied in a psychiatric hospital (Ayllon & Azrin, 1968): patients earned tokens for chores and activities
e.g., serving meals, cleaning, doing laundry
- long-term research (Paul & Lentz, 1977) has shown token economies to be ________ to other approaches in terms of:
• improvements in target behaviours
• less medication required
• earlier release from institutional care
• better adjustment to everyday living after release
- barriers to adoption in institutional settings:
• __________ from staff: due to increased workload; some view tokens as bribes
• costs of backup reinforcers and extra staff
• institutions have tried to reduce costs by releasing patients sooner, which makes implementing a token economy difficult
• legal/_______ concerns have restricted the use of some types of backup reinforcers
is an effective way of changing problem behaviours
gains may be ____ after the person leaves the token economy (academic skills are likely to be retained)
gains from token economy show greater response maintenance than other behaviour change procedures
high _____ are often involved
but token economies may also help reduce costs (e.g., by enhancing safety in industry)
criticized as _________
participants in token economies rate their satisfaction as high; token economies can help people develop real-world skills (e.g., working for pay, managing money)