token economies

• where is token economies used?


  psychiatric hospitals
• what does it do?

  They do not cure the positive symptoms of schizophrenia but can help with the negative symptoms
• how is it beneficial?

  When patients with schizophrenia spend a long time in hospital they can become institutionalized- they develop patterns of behaviour that would not be helpful in the real world. For example, due to a lack of motivation they may spend all day in their pyjamas and not wash themselves. Token economies aim to modify this behaviour so that the patient can work their way up to being able to live outside of the hospital setting
• what is it based on?

  They are based on the idea of operant conditioning and specifically positive reinforcement- a behaviour will be repeated if it results in a reward
• what is a strength?


  One strength of the use of token economies is that they are effective in producing better relationships between patients and psychiatrists. This can help with the smooth daily functioning of a psychiatric hospital. Furthermore, building up a trusting relationship between the psychiatrist and patient is essential for effective treatment- patient will be more likely to listen to the advice of the psychiatrist.
• what is a weakness?


  an issue with using token economies to modify behaviour. If the patient did eventually re-enter society they would no longer be rewarded for behaviours such a making the bed and getting dressed. It is therefore possible that they will stop with the desired behaviour and will not be able to function properly in society.
• what evidence supports token economies?


  McMonagle and Sultana (2009) criticized much of the research into token economies because they had used an independent measures design without randomly allocating patients to conditions. Of the 3 studies that had used random allocation, only one reported an improvement in symptoms.