AO1 - Token Economies

• Token economies are a behaviourist approach used to manage maladaptive behaviour.

  • It is mainly used with patients who have spent a long time in hospital and have therefore developed maladaptive behaviour such as bad hygiene or lack of communication with others
• Aim: To change a patient's behaviour so that they are easier to manage, will have a better quality of life and enables them to live outside a hospital setting
• It works by:

  • Patients receive reinforcements (rewards) in the form of tokens, such as coloured disks immediately producing a desired behaviour, such as self care or social interaction
  • The tokens can then be later exchanged for goods or privileges, such as hours watching TV, magazines or a walk outside
• Desired behaviour shown leads to tokens (secondary reinforcer) which can be exchanged for a privilege such as going out for the day (primary reinforcer)
• The tokens are secondary reinforcers, which are not rewarding by themselves. The patients learn to associate them with meaningful rewards such as going out for a walk (primary reinforcers)

  • In order for the token to become the secondary reinforcers, they need to be paired with the primary reinforcers, so at the start of the token economy, the tokens and primary reinforcers are administered together