Behaviour Modification in Custody AO1

• what is behaviour modification?

  • an application of the behaviourist approach to treatment - based on the principles of operant conditioning
  • aim is to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through positive and/or negative reinforcement - part of rehabilitation
• what is token economy?

  • a form of behavioural therapy where desirable behaviours are encouraged by the use of selective reinforcement
  • people are given rewards (tokens) when they demonstrate desirable behaviour
  • the tokens are secondary reinforcers and can be exchanged for primary reinforcers - privileges, food, cigarettes, gym time etc
• what are operationalised target behaviours?

  • where a target behaviour is broken down into component parts, e.g. improved interaction with other prisoners would include 'speaking politely', 'do not touch another prisoner when passing them'.
  • each 'unit' of behaviour needs to be objective and measurable and agreed by all
• what is a conjugal visit?

  • private visit with a legal spouse - may involve sexual intercourse
  • only available in US prisons
  • thought to reduce incidents of sexual and physical violence in prisons
• what are behaviourist principles within token economies?

  • all human behaviour is learned - should be possible to encourage the unlearning of behaviour
  • token economies are based on the use of tokens (secondary reinforcers) which are given to offenders by prison staff once a desirable behaviour had been displayed
  • tokens can then be exchanged for rewards e.g. cigarettes - primary reinforcers - directly rewarding
• how are token economies designed?

  • target behaviour is operationalised by breaking down into components e.g. improved interactions with other prisoners would include 'speaking politely'
  • each 'unit' of behaviour needs to be objective and measurable and agreed with prison staff and inmates
  • all should be aware of scoring system and how much each particular behaviour is 'worth'
  • aim is for positive reinforcement to outnumber punishment
  • important that staff are fully trained in token economy system
  • aim is to standardise procedures so all staff are rewarding behaviours in the same way
• why is Hobbs and Holt 1976 a key study in TE?

  • researched effectiveness of implementing a token economy programme in three small juvenile delinquent centres
  • also studied a centre with no treatment programmes as a control group
• what was the procedures of Hobbs and Holt?

  • staff trained to identify target behaviours and trained in recording behaviours
  • tokens awarded for behaviours like obeying rules, doing chores etc
  • boys were told what behaviours could earn tokens for and how many token they had earned
  • tokens could be swapped immediately for sweets or cigarettes, or saved for a larger reward later
• what were the findings of Hobbs and Holt?

  • in those institutions where the token economy programmes were introduced, there was a significant increase in desired behaviours
  • 1 - 66% to 91%
  • 2 - 47% to 81%
  • 3 - 73% to 94%
• how does Hobbs and Holt have high validity and reliability?

  • high external validity - use of real inmates
  • use of control group - causation can be shown
  • use of standardised procedures allowed study to be accurately replicable - high reliability of study, results not too dissimilar
  • operationalisation of behaviours - accurately measuring percentage change in desirable behaviour which is what they intended to measure
• how could Hobbs and Holts study be improved?

  • redo research on sample for female juvenile inmates, or of adult inmate to see if behaviour would change in the same way to improve external validity beyond boys in juvenile delinquent centres