Token Economy

Description of the Strategy

A token economy is a treatment procedure based on the principles of operant conditioning. The primary goal of the token economy is to increase and maintain appropriate behavior, although a response-cost procedure is sometimes added to reduce problem behavior. The basic premise of the token economy is fairly straightforward—children earn “tokens” (e.g., points) for appropriate behavior and, at a later time, exchange the tokens for “backup” reinforcers (e.g., extended recess time). With an added response-cost component, children would also lose tokens for engaging in problem behavior. Although response-cost procedures are frequently implemented within token economies, it is beyond the scope of this entry to address the topic in sufficient detail. Therefore, this entry will be devoted to the token economy as a reinforcement system.

The token economy is based on the principle of generalized conditioned reinforcement. Within the system, tokens, which are inherently neutral items, are paired during the exchange with backup reinforcers. Through this pairing, tokens eventually function as conditioned reinforcers for appropriate behavior. The term generalized is used to refer to the child's ability to purchase a wide variety of backup reinforcers with tokens.

The token economy is a popular treatment system due to its many benefits, one of which is the ability of tokens to bridge the gap between the time a behavior occurs and when the backup reinforcer is eventually delivered. Another important benefit is that the use of tokens, which represent a variety of backup reinforcers, can prevent the satiation that sometimes occurs in single-reinforcer programs. In addition, the token economy is useful because it specifies a number of target behaviors for change and can easily be used to manage the behavior of a group of children.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the token economy, its design and execution require considerable planning and attention to detail. When designing a token economy, at least five factors should be considered, including (1) identifying and defining target behaviors, (2) selecting tokens, (3) selecting backup reinforcers, (e) establishing the exchange system, and (f) programming for maintenance. These factors are discussed in detail below.