Operant learning and token economy

• Behaviour modification is a therapy that proposes that criminals should be taught desirable behaviours and that undesirable behaviours should be extinguished. Behaviour modification uses reinforcement to teach desirable behaviours. Positive reinforcement is behaviour is more likely to occur to get a positive reward. Negative reinforcement is when behaviour is more likely to occur to avoid a negative consequence.
• As criminal behaviour is learnt through reinforcement and punishment, a behaviour modification programme which is influenced by Skinner's operant learning theory is the token economy system in prisons.
• In a token economy:

  1. the institution draws up a list of desirable behaviours such as positive interactions with the staff
  2. When the prisoners behave in the desired way, their behaviour is recognised and they earn a token
  3. These tokens can be exchanged for rewards such as a phone call
  4. through this selective reinforcement, good behaviour becomes more likely and undesirable behaviour becomes less likely
• Token economy programme: evaluation

  strengths: They make prisoners more manageable whilst they are in prison and offenders return to crime at a slower rate than those who have not undergone the programme

  limitations: they only work in the short-term as although they show an improvement in behaviour, the reinforcement stops when the offender leaves prison. This means that criminals are not internalising the behaviour.