Token economies

• Background


  • Reward systems used to manage the behaviour of schizophrenia, in particular, those who show maladaptive behaviour
• Rationale


  • Used almost exclusively in closed environments - psych wards
  • Token economies target poor hygiene, poor levels of social interaction, apathy
• Benefits of behaviour modification


  • Improve quality of life inside institutions (psych wards)
  • Provide a set of behaviours and skills to help improve life outside of institutions
• Processes involved


  • Cooper et al. - token economies almost always share core elements
  • Individualised target behaviours
  • Exchange value is established
  • Tokens are plastic coins with no intrinsic value
  • Tokens are given out as soon as target behaviour is observed
  • Regular meetings for modifications
• Theoretical basis


  • Tokens are secondary reinforcers - no intrinsic value but can be exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers)
  • Tokens paired closely with primary reinforcers to establish connection early
  • Tokens that can be exchanged for more than one thing (generalised reinforcers) are particularly strong