Token Economies Flashcards
Outline token economies
Token economy is used to change a patient’s behaviour so they’re easier to manage and have a better quality of life so they can live outside of the hospital setting. Token economies are a behaviourist approach to manage behaviour. It is mainly used with patients who’ve spent a lot of time hospitalised and have developed maladaptive behaviour such as bad hygiene. This behaviour shaping can reduce negative symptoms such as avolition. The technique uses Skinners operant conditioning principles. Patients get reinforcements and rewards in the form of tokens immediately after producing a desired behaviour such as social interaction. The tokens can be exchanges for goods or privileges such as sweets once a certain amount have been collected.
