A form of behaviour modification reward system used to stimulate socially acceptable behaviours
Desirable behaviours encouraged by token economies
Daily showers for someone suffering with avolition
Token economies
Desirable behaviours are encouraged by selective reinforcement
Token economies are used less now due to it being unethical to restriciting rewards to ill people
Institutionalisation
Bad habits formed during long periods in hospital
Treating institutionalisation with token economies
Behaviours must fall into 3 categories: personal care, social behaviour and condition-related care
how and why do token economies work?
for behaviour modification to occur using operant conditioning, target behaviours for tokens are agreed upon first. Cooper (2007) argues target behaviours need to be individually personalised e.g. daily showers for avolition
When the behaviour is performed, a plastic disc, a secondary reinforcer is given to the person immediately as a delayed reward isn't effective The token can then be exchanged for a primary ‘meaningful reinforcer’
Token economies work - Glowacki (2016) identified 7 studies over 17 years and all found a reduction in negative symptoms
7 studies over 17 years is a small sample size
The 'file drawer problem' means there may be bias towards publishing positive results when negative results have been filed away
Chiang (2019) found art therapy to be more ethical and effective than token economies, and NICE recommends art therapy
Token economies are not effective outside of institutions
There are no rewards to be given for target behaviours
A counterpoint is that token economies still have value as they may get a person out of hospital and back home
