Token economy - dealing with offending behaviour

Question 1

based on

Answer 1

operant conditioning principles to modify behaviour using rewards to reinforce desired behaviours to continue

Question 2

what do prison staff do initially (e.g.s)

Answer 2

outline the desired behaviours e.g. comply to prison rules, when the behaviour is seen they receive a token

Question 3

what are tokens and their purpose

Answer 3

secondary reinforcers which can be exchanged for rewards

Question 4

what are the rewards

Answer 4

primary reinforcers, things the inmates desire e.g. time on the xbox

Question 5

who decides on the rewards

Answer 5

prisoners to maintain motivation

Question 6

what must we ensure about the tokens

Answer 6

they aren’t replicable/can’t cause harm

Question 7

how can negative reinforcement be used

Answer 7

to avoid something unpleasant e.g. time off pot washing

Question 8

what do the prison staff decide about the tokens and how are they controlled

Answer 8

they decide on the exchange process e.g. 300 tokens = a visit. initially desired behaviour is rewarded every time, as the programme develops behaviour shaping techniques are used e.g. every 3rd time

Question 9

can punishment be used?

Answer 9

yes e.g. isolation to reduce non-desired behaviours

Question 10

Hobbs and Holt study explanation

Answer 10

observed a TEP in use at Alabama Boys Industrial School, a state training school for adolescent delinquents. aim to reduce inappropriate social behaviour before and after dinner and when lining up. staff given time to identify target behaviours, ways of observing and recording data, identify issues and assess the operation. They observed 125 delinquent males between 12-15 years living in 4 cottages. One cottage was a control group were token economy was not in operation. The boys were told how many tokens and what behaviours needed to be evident to receive them. They were given a piece of paper each day informing them how many tokens they had received. They were taken to a token economy store once a week where they could buy drinks, sweets, toys and cigarettes. They could also save tokens for more valuable items such as visits home.

Question 11

Hobbs and Holt study results

Answer 11

They found the mean percentages for social behaviours before the boys were given tokens were 66%, 47% and 73% for the 3 cottages. Post-tokens they increased to 91%, 81% and 94%, an average increase of 27%. The control group showed no increase of social behaviours.

Question 12

E-ethical issues

Answer 12

violation of human rights because the individuals behaviour is being manipulated without agreement.

Question 13

E-ethical issues- Hall

Answer 13

suggests human rights violation can be overcome with TEP being agreed with all who are involved

Question 14

E-ethical issues that remain

Answer 14

basic needs are conditional on good behaviour. some prisoners who can’t control their behaviour are unable to earn tokens and be granted these rights. also punishment is unethical and goes against rehab goals

Question 15

E-practical considerations- can be administered by anyone with training and no psychologist is needed to manage behaviour. tokens?

Answer 15

relatively cheap so it is not expensive

Question 16

E-practical considerations- consistency

Answer 16

not consistent, staff may miss behaviours due to not enough wardens, may be inconsistent between staff with how they award tokens. could cause prisoners to disengage

Question 17

E-ethical issues2- tokens as contraband

Answer 17

essential that rewards have no intrinsic value as the system could be abused. tokens could also be manipulated into weapons if they are made from a potentially dangerous material

Question 18

E-effectiveness- doesn’t rehabilitate criminals or make them face up to their crime/victim/impact. also ineffective as behaviour modification only deals with surface behaviours…

Answer 18

they don’t learn how to change the behaviour that lead them to prison they just have to simply behave to gain early release. the behaviour will not be rewarded outside prison so without the continuous reinforcement the desired behaviours will become extinct

Question 19

E-effectiveness- individual differences

Answer 19

some people respond better to operant conditioning, success has been found with juvenile delinquents. Cohen found juveniles after the use of TEP are less likely to reoffend within a year. it doesn’t work well with violent offenders however. Rice found that of 92 men in psychiatric maximum security prisons, 50% that undertook TEP reoffended