5.10. Token Economies Flashcards
Behaviour modification:
implement in prison (mainly young offenders)
What are token economies based on?
Operant conditioning- positive behaviour rewarded, undesirable behaviour punished
All behaviour is…
Learned
We can learn and unlearn
What do token economies aim to do?
Reinforce desirable behaviour, do a ‘good’ behaviour to get a token
What are tokens used for?
To get a desirable thing
E.g. free time, tv time, magazine, books, chocolate, luxuries from the shop
What is the primary reinforcer?
The item they get
What is the secondary reinforcer?
The token (the means to get what they want)
What must target behaviour be?
Clearly outlined to be successful = operationalised
What is essential?
Training- both prisoners and prison officers need to be made aware of how much each behaviour is worth.
What should reinforcement do?
Outweigh punishment 4:1
What must be monitored?
Progress
What must token economies also be?
Standardised
Strength: Hobbs and Holt
- Studied young offenders taking part in a token economy programme
- They received token economies for making their bed/ lining up/ being respectful
- All showed an average of 27% increase in desirable behaviour
Strength: young offenders
- Young offenders responded better if rewards were more instant, frequent and positive
- It’s a system to cater to the needs of the clientele
Strength: cheap
Straightforward, easier and cheaper than CBT
Weakness: inconsistency
- If staff are inconsistent, any benefit of token economy is lost.
- A problem with sickness, high staff turnover or staff engaging in the system better than others.
Weakness: unethical method
- It’s a violation of human rights to manipulate behaviours
- Some prisoners cannot control their behaviour + will never get tokens, therefore deprived of privileges
Weakness: play along
- Offenders can play along with the system, whilst in prison to get the reward
- But when the reward stops, the good behaviour stops
- Therefore, they haven’t learned the correct behaviour.
