Table Of ContentTHE TOKEN ECONOMY
THE PLENUM BEHAVIOR THERAPY SERIES
Series Editor: Nathan H. Azrin
THE TOKEN ECONOMY: A Review and Evaluation
By Alan E. Kazdin
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: An Integrative Approach
By Donald H. Meichenbaum
THE TOKEN ECONOMY
A Review and Evaluation
ALAN E. KAZDIN
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
PLENUM PRESS· NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Kazdin, Alan E
The token economy.
(The Plenum behavior therapy series)
Bibliography: p.
Includes indexes.
1. Operant conditioning. 2. Reinforcement (psychology) I. Title. [DNLM: 1.
Behavior therapy. 2. Reward. WM420 K235tj
BF319.5.06K39 153.8'5 7644285
ISBN -13:978-1-4613-4123-9 e-ISBN -13:978-1-4613-4121-5
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4613-4121-5
© 1977 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1977
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from lhe Publisher
To my sister, Fran
PREFACE
Applications of operant techniques in treatment and education have proliferated in
recent years. Among the various techniques, the token economy has been particu
larly popular. The token economy has been extended to many populations included
in psychiatry, clinical psychology, education, and the mental health fields in
general. Of course, merely because a technique is applied widely does not neces
sarily argue for its efficacy. Yet, the token economy has been extensively re
searched. The main purpose of this book is to review, elaborate, and evaluate
critically research bearing on the token economy. The book examines several
features of the token economy including the variables that contribute to its
efficacy, the accomplishments, limitations, and potential weaknesses, and recent
advances. Because the token economy literature is vast, the book encompasses
programs in diverse treatment, rehabilitation, and educational settings across a wide
range of populations and behaviors.
Within the last few years, a small number of books on token economies have
appeared. Each of these books describes a particular token economy in one treatment
,etting, details practical problems encountered, and provides suggestions for ad
ministering the program. This focus is important but neglects the extensive
scholarly research on token economies. The present book reviews research across
diverse settings and clients. Actually, this focus is quite relevant for implementing
token economies because the research reveals those aspects and treatment variations
that contribute to or enhance client performance. The data base now available
extends the treatment recommendations that can be made beyond the necessarily
limited experience that stems from only one program with a Single-client popula
tion.
Aside from the general focus and orientation, other features have been in
cluded to distinguish this text from others in the area. First, specific influences on
client performance that are often omitted or underplayed in other texts are
elaborated. These include the influence of self-administration and peer adminis
tration of the contingencies, the relationship of economic variables in the token
economy and client behavior change, the role of punishment as an adjunctive
procedure, the influence of modeling and vicarious processes, the effects of dif
ferent types of contingencies, and other influences. Second, token reinforcement
programs have been extended beyond the usual treatment settings. Currently, many
programs focus on socially and environmentally relevant behaviors such as pol
lution, energy conservation, job procurement, and others. These applications repre-
vii
viii PREFACE
sent a significant extension of reinforcement techniques and are reviewed in detail.
Finally, legal issues have become prominent in behavior modification in the last few
years. Many court decisions have direct bearing on implementing token economies,
particularly in institutional settings. Salient decisions and their implications for
implementing token economies are reviewed.
The book begins with a chapter that details the principles of operant condition
ing. This chapter serves only as background material for the remainder of the text
and may be disregarded by the reader already quite familiar with operant principles.
The main text begins by tracing the development of applied operant research in
general and the token economy in particular (Chapter 2). This historical focus
includes examples of large scale "token economies" that antedated the develop
ment of behavior modification. The advantages of token economies over other
reinforcement practices also are detailed.
The token economy is not a unitary technique. Token economies vary widely
across a range of dimensions including who administers the tokens, how tokens are
administered, whether back-up events are used, and if so, what events, the type of
contingencies, and so on. The range of options that can be incorporated into the
token economy and the effects of these options on client behavior are reviewed
(Chapter 3). The token economy has been used with an amazingly large number of
populations across several behaviors. Applications and accomplishments with psy
chiatric patients, the mentally retarded, individuals in classroom settings, delin
quents, adult offenders, drug addicts, alcoholics, children and adults in outpatient
treatment and in the "natural environment," and several others are reviewed
(Chapters 4 and 5);
Several issues bear directly on the effectiveness of a token economy. Major
issues are discussed including training individuals to implement a token economy,
ensuring that clients respond to the contingencies, and the manipulation of eco
nomic variables (Chapter 6). Certainly, one of the most outstanding issues in the
field is maintaining behavior changes effected in token economies and ensuring
their transfer to non treatment settings. The technology of maintaining behavioral
gains has made important advances in the last few years. With an empirical base,
specific procedures can be advanced to increase the likelihood that behaviors will be
maintained and transfer to new settings after the token economy has been termi
nated (Chapter 7).
Although the early chapters in the book stress the accomplishments of the
token economy, the criticisms that might be levied against this approach also are
detailed. The token economy is critically evaluated across a number of dimensions
including the treatment focus, variables contributing to its efficacy, the possible
deleterious effects of extrinsic reinforcement, a comparison of the token economy
with other treatment procedures, and whether token economies have achieved
clinically important changes in behavior (Chapter 8). A relatively new focus in the
field is the extension of reinforcement techniques to SOCially and environmentally
relevant behaviors. Applications of reinforcement, particularly those based upon
token reinforcement, are detailed along with broader extensions that have at
tempted to apply operant principles to community and social living situations
PREFACE ix
(Chapter 9). Involvement of the courts in treatment and rehabilitation, especially in
recent years, has generated legal rulings that bear directly upon the token economy
as a treatment technique. Ethical and legal issues, major court decisions, and
procedures designed to protect client rights are described (Chapter 10). The final
chapter of the text briefly summarizes the major accomplishments and salient issues
of the token economy (Chapter 11).
Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to discuss developments in
applied behavior analysis with several individuals whose contributions have served
as the foundation of the field. These individuals have influenced much of the
content of the present text and no doubt its overall orientation. The list of
individuals would be too long to acknowledge here and in any case might be
omitted to avoid inadvertently implying their endorsement of the present text. As
an exception to this, I wish to make a special note of my gratitude to Nathan H.
Azrin whose evaluative comments on the manuscript were not only important in
achieving the final version of this book but also in stimulating many of my own
thoughts about the field in general.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the support of the Center for Advanced Study in
the Behavior Sciences. Final preparation of the book was completed while I was on
leave at the Center.
Alan E. Kazdin
The Pennsylvania State University
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING 1
Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Positive Reinforcement ...................................... 2
Negative Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Punishment .................................................. 6
Extinction ................................................... 8
Maximizing the Effect of Positive Reinforcement ..................... 8
Delay of Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Magnitude or Amount of Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Quality or Type of the Reinforcer .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Schedules of Reinforcement .................................. 10
Shaping ..................................................... 12
Chaining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., 13
Prompting and Fading .......................................... 14
Discrimination and Stimulus Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 15
Generalization ................................................ 16
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17
Chapter 2
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 19
Investigation of the Influence of Response Consequences ............... 20
Extensions of Operant Methods to Human Behavior: An Overview .. . . . . .. 22
Conceptual and Experimental Extensions ........................ 22
Clinical Applications ........................................ 26
Token Economies Antedating Contemporary Behavior Modification. . . . . .. 30
Joseph Lancaster and the "Monitorial System" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30
The Excelsior School System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 33
Alexander Maconochie and the "Mark System" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 34
Contemporary Foundations of Token Economies ..................... 35
Reinforcement Programs in Applied Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39
Food and Other Consumable Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39
Social Reinforcers .......................................... 41
xi
xii CONTENTS
Activities, Privileges, and Other High Probability Behaviors. . . . . . . . . .. 41
Informative Feedback ....................................... 43
Token Reinforcement ....................................... 44
Conclusion .................................................. 45
Chapter 3
THE TOKEN ECONOMY: PROGRAM OPTIONS AND VARIATIONS 47
The Basic Token Program and Its Requirements ...................... 47
The Token .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 47
Back-up Reinforcers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 49
Specification of the Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51
Examples of Token Economies in Three Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 52
Psychiatric Ward ........................................... 52
Home-Style Facility for Pre-Delinquents ......................... 55
Elementary School Classroom ................................. 58
Program Variations, Options, and Their Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 59
Types of Contingencies ......................................... 60
Administration of Consequences .................................. 64
Range and Extent of Back-up Reinforcers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 66
Token Withdrawal or Response Cost ............................... 69
Response Cost Programs ..................................... 70
Token Economies Including Response Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 72
Use of Response Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 73
Leveled Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 73
Peer Administration of the Contingencies ........................... 76
Self-Administration of Consequences .............................. 79
Conclusion .................................................. 82
Chapter 4
REVIEW OF TOKEN ECONOMIES I .............................. 85
Psychiatric Patients ............................................ 85
General Ward-Wide Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 85
Complex and Therapeutically Relevant Behaviors and "Symptoms" . . .. 88
Social Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 90
Other Behaviors .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 92
The Mentally Retarded ......................................... 93
Ward and Self-Care Behaviors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 93
Verbal Behavior and Language Acquisition ....................... 95
Social Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 98
Work-Related Behaviors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 99
Other Behaviors " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 100
Individuals in Classroom Settings .................................. 101
Disruptive Behavior and Inattentiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102
