Week #15 - Token Economy (Due Saturday)

What is your setting?
My setting is academic: a 1st or 2nd grade classroom.

What behavior class are you going to change?
I am going to provide positive reinforcement for children’s reading behavior.

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
I am going to use positive reinforcement to increase the amount of time children spend reading at home and at school.

What type of token are you going to use?
Students will be given arts materials (crayons, markers, colored pencils, wallpaper, gift wrap) and blank bookmark or book cover patterns and allowed to decorate their own bookmarks or create their own book covers.

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
These tokens are relatively inexpensive because students will all ready have some of the art materials. Also, materials like wallpaper and gift wrap can be scraps that I can have donated by parents, grandparents, and other teachers. In addition to this, students will be allowed to create a bookmark or book cover that appeals to them, rather than just receiving a standard bookmark or book cover that they may or may not find appealing.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
I will allow students to spend more time doing one of their high frequency behaviors (computer time, blocks, legos, etc) if they are not motivated to engage in the target behavior of reading by receiving the tokens (bookmarks or book covers).

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
My reason for choosing bookmarks and book covers as reinforcers was that that they are closely related to the behavior that I am trying to increase (reading). Also, they are relatively inexpensive and can be created by the students, so the children are personally involved in creating the token interest and can design a product that is appealing to them.

What is the token value and how did you select that value?
The token is worth 4 hours of independent reading in and outside of the classroom. I selected this value by consulting a friend of mine who has a literacy endorsement. I asked her how long a 1st or 2nd grader should be expected to read independently in a 5 day week and she said 4-5 hours would be appropriate.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
I am going to keep a large basket full of blank book covers and bookmarks by my desk. I chose this place as my bank because the tokens will be in a location where I can closely monitor them and ensure that the students don’t just grab a book mark or book cover without earning them.

What are the hours of operation for your bank?
I will award students with their tokens during center time on Friday afternoons.

Who will you need to explain your program to?
I will need to explain my program to the principal at the elementary school, as well as my colleagues and other school administrators. Also, I will need to explain the program to my students and their parents.

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I will explain that I have created a program to motivate my students to read more than they do right now. Currently, my students are only reading 2-3 hours a week during class and at home. I will hand out reading charts to the students and explain to them that I need them to keep track of the amount of time they spend reading at home. I will also write a letter to their parents explaining the program and asking them to help their children record the amount of time they spend reading. I will keep a record of the amount of time ach child spends reading at school. Also, I will tell my principal and colleagues that I have devised a plan to motivate my students to read more. I will tell them that students are going to receive a prize that they can decorate themselves as positive reinforcement for reading 4+ hours per week at school and at home. I will explain that the tokens are inexpensive and that students will be actively involved in the creation of the tokens. Finally, I will explain that students who are not motivated by book marks or book covers will be allowed to select an appropriate preferred activity to engage in during center time on Fridays.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
I will increase the amount of reading time required to gain a token.

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
Students might become bored with the tokens after a certain amount of time and no longer be motivated by book covers, bookmarks, or free time to spend in an activity of their choice. It might become necessary for me to provide different tokens after a few weeks. Also, some children may have parents who are uninterested in their education and are unwilling to help them fill out their reading charts, which would make it difficult for me to monitor the amount of time they spend reading at home.

1.)What is your setting?
My setting is home.

2.)What behavior class are you going to change?
I am going to try to change the amount of time that my brother plays video games.

3.)What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
Since my brother’s behavior of playing video games is a high frequency for him, I need to find other activities that could be just as fun for him. Through reinforcement, I am going to encourage my brother to do other activities besides playing video games. For instance, I may offer to ask him to play basketball or do some type of outdoor or indoor activity with me. By doing these things with me he will be reinforced for his behavior.

4.)What type of token are you going to use?
The token system that I am going to use is a card. To make it fun I will draw some of his favorite video game players on each card and I will make the system like a video game. There will be 4 levels and each card will represent one level. The first card will represent 5 points, the second 10 points, and so on, thus, meaning he will need to reach 50 points. For the first level he will receive a card with 5 points for doing an activity with me or by himself for half an hour. In the second level, the activity will increase to an hour and he will receive 10 points. Once he reaches 50 points he can play one of his video games for up to a couple hours since that’s the amount of time he had to spend doing other activities. However, he will not have to do these activities all at once, meaning he can break up the time. Once he reaches the 50 points he gets to start over.

5.)What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
I will need to make sure that my brother understands that token system and that he has a place that he can keep his cards.

6.)What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
The backup reinforcer will be having the opportunity to watch his favorite show or movie.

7.)What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
Aside from playing video games, he likes to watch TV as well. However, the activities that I want to get him to do don’t involve watching TV. So I know that I can use these two as reinforcers because they are high on his behavioral hierarchy.

8.)What is the token value and how did you select that value?
The token value is based on increments of 5 points. I selected this amount because I think it will be a good way to gradually wean him off of the video games. I believe that this goal is reachable for him as well. It shouldn’t take him too long to reach what he wants; therefore, it should not discourage him from using the token system. He is also very good at math and can handle the calculating that will be needed.

9.)What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
I am using cards that can be kept in the living room. This way he can see them every day and the cards will be organized so he does not lose them.

10.)What are the hours of operation for your bank?
The bank will be available between 8 AM to 10 PM throughout the week. During this time he can place his cards in the envelope or take them out and count them. Since he is older I think the time fits his schedule well and this will give him plenty of opportunity to have access to the bank.

11.)Who will you need to explain your program to?
I will need to explain this program to my mom since we both live with her. And if he goes to see my dad I will need to explain it to him as well.

12.)How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I will probably explain my program the way I did so above. I will let my brother know that we are going to try something new. And so he doesn’t feel like I am putting him a system I will make it fun. This is where the characters on the cards and the levels come in. I will explain that there are 4 levels and that each card is worth one level, as well as, an amount of time spent doing an activity. The first level is worth five points and 30 minutes of activity. The second level (or card) is worth 10 points and 60 minutes of activity and so on. There will be a total of 50 points ( 2 hours of activity) that will need to be reached. Once this is reached he can play a video game for a few hours.

13.)What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
I hope that he will get used the system and will eventually grow out of it. Hopefully, he will also enjoy the amount that he gets to spend with me or the time he spends doing another activity. My plan will to be to find something else that he really enjoys and get that to be high on his behavioral hierarchy. If I reach this goal, he will hopefully spend less time playing video games. So, if he gets to the point where he doesn’t feel like he has to go outside or do something else, maybe he won’t ask for a card every time.

14.)Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
I can see my brother not liking the idea of reducing his video game playing behavior. So, he might not have very much enthusiasm to do so. I am hoping that if I am excited to go out and spend time with him he will eventually change his attitude about the system.

What is your setting?
A juvenile detention center or setting similar to Bremwood (where several of our students work). Basically 15-18 year olds.

What behavior class are you going to change?
Going to decrease socially disruptive behaviors through DRO of various pro-social behaviors.

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
Helping someone else with their daily duties (there would need to already be a list of individual daily activities to finish for instance: making bed, cleaning room, taking out trash, picking up garbage outside, homework etc.)
Removing themselves from a hostile area (this I will have to defend later).
Participating in group activities.

What type of token are you going to use?
Stickers or punches on cards handed out to the kids.

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
There is a possibility that the cards might be lost or stolen. So they will need to be individualized with the person’s name, and also perhaps a duplicate record could be kept by the main office.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
Time spent alone, or perhaps extra time to spend with parents or a chance to leave the grounds. Extra ‘cash’ to spend on candy and soda at vending machines or the store located on the grounds.

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
Since most of the rewards are for spending time in a group and increasing pro-social behaviors the time to spend alone or outside of the context of the facility will likely be highly reinforcing. Similarly getting extra cash to spend on yourself, or doing activities that you choose, allows for a more appropriate form of ‘selfishness’ on the part of the patient.

What is the token value and how did you select that value?
The best way to determine token value I think would be to gather baseline data on the frequency with which the target behaviors are emitted, and also the frequency with which the undesirable behaviors are emitted. There may be general trends also in how (un)desirable patients find particular chores or activities which could help determine the value of the tokens.
However for starters you may provide 1 token for participating in a group activity, 2 tokens for helping another patient with any one daily chore (more chores=more tokens), and 3-5 for going to the pre-designated “neutral area” when a physical or verbal fight begins or takes place.
They might be exchanged as follows: 5 tokens= $5 fun cash to spend at the store, or what have you (this would largely depend on what’s available at the store), 10 tokens= 30-60 minutes alone or in a “quite room” which might have video games, books, etc. available. 30 tokens, an extra 2-3 hours with your parents on weekends or whenever they come to visit, etc.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
I chose to let the kids keep track of the cards themselves in order to give them continuous access to their progress, and also to increase their involvement in the program. The good things about this are obviously that it gives the kids more responsibility and will probably increase the amount of procedural fairness they believe exists since they won’t need to worry that someone else is tampering with their tokens or that they are falling off or that they are being punished and not given tokens when they deserve them, etc. Downfalls are that they might get lost or stolen. It would need to be monitored to see how frequently people were losing them to see if this is a problem with the system, or whether it is because the child is simply not careful enough. This responsibility over the long run may simultaneously make them more careful with their property which might be a problem in and of itself for some of these patients.
Personalizing the cards would stop other people from stealing the cards to gain the rewards, but not from simply trying to punish someone by taking them and destroying them. Again this would have to be monitored to see how big of a deal it was. If it became a big deal you could reward the entire group by turning in a particular number of cards in a given time which might discourage people from destroying cards. Also by keeping a separate count of the tokens in the main office you may be able to catch someone who was doing this and punish them accordingly. The problem with having a second count is that kids might not keep their cards knowing that they can just consult the board which would defeat the benefit of having cards so this might need to be kept exclusively if a problem broke out with stealing.

What are the hours of operation for your bank?
For the most part the bank would be open during waking hours and dependent on what was being exchanged. Naturally if you are exchanging points for time with your parents you can exchange it anytime but must wait for the weekend, visiting hours, or when your parents come, etc. Regarding money for the store the store would need to be open and may have requirements of it’s own. Free time alone, or with one or two other people in the entertainment room, or whatever would be open all the time to avoid kids simply emitting a ton of positive behaviors right before the store opens, or right before the weekend, etc.

Who will you need to explain your program to?
All the kids, administrators, faculty, and even the staff really. Provided you don’t have problems during sleeping hours you could shut the token economy off during that time and only implement it during common hours, or when everyone is out of their rooms, etc. Then only the staff on the clock during those times would need to be taught the program.

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I would explain first the goals, that we are trying to decrease undesirable behaviors such as fighting, ignoring people, and acting selfishly like sitting alone, worrying only about your own things and your own chores, etc., by reinforcing behaviors that are the opposite of all of these. Helping someone else with chores and actively participating in group activities is required to get the reinforcers. This will be difficult or impossible to do if they are fighting, or are angry at the people around them.
So the staff are to watch for these target behaviors at first in order to teach the kid’s all the activities that really are included in the program and hand out cards and punches along with compliments when they do this. The kids will likely increase the amount of time they spend hanging around other people, and also try to behave well in order to maximize the amount of time they can continue to emit the target behaviors. Likely this will result in fights for some if not most of the patients so they must also learn when to leave a situation that is escalating and will be given punches for doing this was well.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
Initially a lot of tokens would be handed out in order to teach the kids all the behaviors that really are examples of helping others and acting pro-socially. It is assumed that most of these behaviors the kids already emit on a daily basis but didn’t realize that they really were positive, good behaviors. After this is made explicit through rewards and positive affirmations the number of tokens handed out could be reduced. This could be done covertly by having the staff be less aggressive and simply wait for the kids to come ask for tokens. However, you could also increase the exchange rate of the tokens, or add to the reinforcers as a result of giving out fewer tokens. For instance tell all the kids that they have done so well that various behaviors have become second nature and are being done too often to keep giving out tokens so instead they will no longer count towards a token but “we’re adding an xbox to the game room” or “free time on the exchange bank is doubled” etc. etc.

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
There are numerous places for potential problems to occur. First is the problem with lost and stolen cards. If this became an outbreak the system would have to be reworked.
Another major problem is what to do about a small group of kids forming a clique and simply working together to get a tone of points. Say one guy gets a best friend and every day they help each other do all their chores. They could still be very anti-social and aggressive towards everyone else but be getting maximum tokens. If this happened they could stipulate that you have to help a different person with a different chore each time to continue to get points.
Similarly there is a problem with the reinforcers. Although they are generic enough to be desired by most everyone they are greatly dependant on the resources available at the facility. Do they just have a ping pong table and old outdated books? There are enough gaming systems available now that it’s possible that someone has no desire to play xbox because they so greatly prefer another system like wii, playstation, computers, etc. Also what if someone doesn’t have parents to come visit them? Or never get’s in arguments or physical altercations? If this is the case some of the reinforcers wouldn’t even work.
It would be desirable to have a large baseline period where all of the activities that were available within the facility could be monitored to find out how reinforcing each person found each activity, and also general trends in how reinforcing and punishing various activities, chores, and treatment programs were. If you start reinforcing on a personal basis the system could become to complex and chaotic for either the kids or staff to understand. This baseline data could highlight the basic reinforcers, as well as some specific changes which might be allowed on an individual basis but would not complicate the system overall.

What is your setting?
My grandmother's house when watching my two little cousins (sisters of three and seven years old)

What behavior class are you going to change?
Increase the frequency of positive social behaviors within the household

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
Being kind to each other, picking up their toys, reading or selecting a book to read, finishing their meals, going to bed on time, going to bed on time without argument

What type of token are you going to use?
I am going to use the marble in the jar for each girl

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?

Because the girls aren't always at grandma's house, the marble jars can be transferred between her house and the girls' parents house. Also, marbles are a tangible object which the girls can constantly monitor as the marbles build in the jar

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
The girls can trade in marbles for certain privileges, whether it is snacks, later bedtime, going out to eat, greater allowance, etc.

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?

These reinforcers are common short-term needs for the girls while they are on the longer-term plan for filling up the marble jar. Trading in these marbles for these reinforcers will also help solve other behavioral and social problems related to the ones identified in the target behavior

What is the token value and how did you select that value?

Kindness towards each other is worth two points and is unlimited
Picking up their toys is worth two points per day
Going to bed on time is worth three points (without argument 5 points)
Finishing each meal is worth 2 points with up to 6 points a day
Reading and selecting a book is worth 2 points with up to 6 points possible a day

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?

The bank will be a cookie jar full of marbles which will serve to fill each of the girls jar/glass to be filled. I chose the cookie jar because that is something that is already seen as an object with something inside it that is already desired. Thus the marbles will be removed from the cookie jar on the counter which is readily acceptable and transferrable dependent upon completion of a task
What are the hours of operation for your bank?
The hours of operation never cease to exist as this is important in their development of social and behavioral skills (obviously when the girls go to school it becomes harder to monitor, but teacher feedback will be in play as well when it comes to rewarding their behavior)

Who will you need to explain your program to? The program will need to be explained to both the girls' parents, grandma and grandpa, and anyone else in relative constant contact with the two indiviuals

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)? Well I would fill them in on the overall concept of token economies which I believe to be pretty important in the implementation and then go through my answers to the questions listed above.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?

After a month, the point system will be cut in half and the opportunities for reinforcement will dwindle down

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?

Potential problems I see is regression within the school setting. Going along with that, the girls are often in many different environments, often being cared for by myself, my grandparents, their parents, their other grandparents, etc. The system must be effectively explained and efficiently managed to maintain its presumed effectiveness

What is your setting? 


My setting is a second grade elementary school classroom.

What behavior class are you going to change?


The behavior class to change is the decreasing frequency of students talking when they should be working or listening to students or teachers.

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement?

The students are to be silent, eyes on person who is talking, all things out of hands (ex. pencils sitting on desk), and body turned towards speaker.

What type of token are you going to use?


I am going to use stickers. So many stickers will equal a level. That level is a specific prize.

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?


These stickers will be put onto a grid that is located on the classroom bulletin board. The students that are to collect stickers will be written down in a notebook that I only am to have possession of. This way if the stickers are moved or peeled off (which is unlikely because it is in a location that is hard to reach), I will still have a record of who got the stickers.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers? 


If the reinforcers don’t work, I will have to discover a new reinforcer by asking the students want they would want to work towards.

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?


So many stickers will equal a prize. 5 stickers will equal a piece of candy, 10 stickers will equal extra to play a game, 15 stickers will equal extra recess, and all 20 stickers will be the chance to eat in the classroom with a friend rather than in cafeteria. These are things or activities that students usually find motivating. To make the students feel they have more connection and choice to the reinforcer, I will give students the chance to make different suggestions for levels and perhaps vote on them.

What is the token value and how did you select that value?


All the students only get one sticker earned a day. To earn the sticker, the students can not have their name under warning. I will have a giant teaching mat that has pockets for cards to be inserted in. Every student’s name will be on the mat and then “warning” will be there. When students talk when they shouldn’t, I will ask the student discretely to go and move his/her name to “warning”. Once the child’s name is moved to warning, the student won’t get the sticker for the day. What is to still motivate the student to behave for the rest of the day is to not have to move the name from “warning” to “miss 5 min. of recess” to “phone call to parents” to “principal’s office”. It all depends on how serious the talking is.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?


My bank will be the little paper graph for each child that is located on the bulletin board. The stickers will be put up for students each day. I will also write the information on my private notebook incase anything happened to the graphs.

What are the hours of operation for your bank?


After 20 days, because there will only be room for 20 stickers, that is one month usually for school days. The students will get their prize after the 20 stickers or the month is over.

Who will you need to explain your program to?


I will need to explain the program to parents, additional teachers that may be in the classroom, and the students.

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?


For parents, I will send the information in a letter format and ask that if they have any objections to e-mail me or call. For teachers, I will let them know that when they students talking when should be listening to teacher or students, the teachers also have the authority to have the student move his/her name on the graph.
For the students, I will walk the students through the entire process and ask them what they think about the reinforcers and if they have any suggestions for the reinforcers. Basically, what I will be saying to everyone is that I will give the students time to talk but when we need to be serious and get to work, I expect the students to be working with the group. I want to see the students talking to each other and interacting. What I don’t want to hear is off task conversation or two neighbors talking to each other while the rest of the group is working. I want the students to also listen to the teacher(s) when teacher is explain talking. Explain that when there are all these blurts, it takes out a lot of class time. Then I will discuss the mat procedure with moving names to “warning” and if need be, next to “5 min. of recess missed” and so on. I will explain the students will get a star that day is their name wasn’t moved to “warning” and so on. At the end of each month, so many stickers will equal a level which has an extra activity or goody.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?


I really don’t see the need to reduce the reinforcer because the students really are only getting the reinforcer once a month. If it recommended that I do so, I can say the duration or sticker amount for when the students see the reinforcer.

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?

I could see parents not liking a reinforcer. Students being upset that the other students can see their name moved to “warning.”

What is your setting?
Class room setting

What behavior class are you going to change?
Positive reinforcement for correct math problems

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
I am going to use this reinforcement to increase the child’s ability to perform on math assignments and exams.

What type of token are you going to use?
I will be using play money

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
When working with younger or disabled students who may swallow or lodge them in their nose or ears.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
Other options would be happy face /gold star stickers, holes punched in a card, or points on the board might better
serve these students.

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
The reason for this rationale is for safety precaution. These reinforcers should be easily dispensed, difficult to counterfeit, and safe to use.
Build the token economy.
What is the token value and how did you select that value?

Two tokens for 1 cent of value is often reasonable for a student who can earn an average of
50 tokens a day. I chose this as the value because I understand that math can be difficult for some students and I did not want it impossible for students to receive a token for their achievements.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
The classroom bank will consist of a large red laminated poster of students’ names listed where the teacher can write with a washable marker and erase as token totals change for each student. These listings will be publicly viewed among the students. The bank accounts provides important feedback to students about how well they are doing and will encourage positive competition among class members. As protection with my bank records, post the bank in a highly visible location and I will always keep hard copy available.

What are the hours of operation for your bank?
There will two times throughout the day when students will operate these tokens. One will be during homework time and the other will be after a quiz has been administered.

Who will you need to explain your program to?
I will explain the program to parents and students. I will also inform the administrators of the school and other teachers who may benefit from the program.

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I have created a program based on an award system beneficial to the children. My math students have worked very hard at work on complicated skill t there grade level. For each correct problem that the students receive on a homework assignment and/or test problem will receive 2 token with the equivalence or 1 cent. I will be using a laminated poster to keep track of these earning and will also keep a hard copy for myself to ensure quality for the students. I am informing other facility about the award system to help encourage the students to work harder and to do well in the class. I will explain to the students it is important o accomplish great things even is the award system was not here. I will explain that the award system is here to help motivate them to achieve something better in their math class. At the end of the semester the children will use their money to have a party to celebrate their success.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?

As students acquire the skills, gradually fade the use of tokens from a continuous to an intermittent schedule of delivery but while fading the number of tokens, continue praising students when they display correct behaviors.

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
Problems that I may have would be maintaining the students’ interest and motivation. Another issue will be the difficult behavior changes with too little amount of tokens as a reward is as problematic as rewarding numerous tokens for simple behavior

What is your setting? My setting is the home, anticipated for when I have my own children.

What behavior class are you going to change?
The behavior class I want to target with my kids will be getting homework done before dinner, doing chores without being told, obtaining good grades, etc.

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
I will try to use reinforcement with all of the behaviors listed above.

What type of token are you going to use?
The token will be stickers that will go on a sticker board next to each child's name. Each child will have their own color of sticker to make sure they don't try to steal other siblings' stickers.

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
I will keep these tokens out of reach so the children will have to come to me to obtain stickers for the board; however, the children can put the stickers on the board themselves. With the sticker board, the children will have to get a sticker for "credit" therefore, they can't make up marks or anything to falsify what they have done throughout the week.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
Backup reinforcers will include money and special privileges.

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
By reinforcing the children with money they will not only learn the importance of saving, but they will then also be able to purchase what they have been wanting or fun trips out with their friends. Special privileges such as more computer time or letting the children stay up later will teach the children responsibility and an understanding of hard work pays off.

What is the token value and how did you select that value?
Every behavior, such as finishing a chore without being told, finishing homework before dinner, or a good grade, will be rewarded with a sticker. Each sticker equals a dollar, so at the end of each week the child will receive as much money as he/she has in stickers to either save or spend as he/she pleases.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
The bank will be me or my husband because we will have income as opposed to the children when they are little. So when they children "cash in" their stickers at the end of the week they will come to my husband or I and we will give them cash for their stickers. The board will be cleared of the stickers and the children will start over for the next week then.

What are the hours of operation for your bank?
Hours of operation will be Saturday at lunch because it will be the end of the week and the children should be around for lunch. Hours of operation for the stickers will be to come to a parent whenever the child completes the behavior and wants a sticker for the board.

Who will you need to explain your program to?
I will need to explain my program to my husband so we agree on how to run it and also my children so they understand how the program works and how to obtain money/allowance.

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I will tell my children to come see me or their father after they complete a chore, finish their homework, or bring home homework with a good grade. They will be awarded with a sticker that will go on the sticker board. Each sticker is worth a dollar at the end of the week. At the end of the week on Sat. at lunch the children can redeem their stickers for cash. They are encouraged to save the money for things they want or they can spend it, but to realize that they will have more money in the long run if they save it. Stickers will not be taken away, rather they just won't obtain one if they don't complete the chore/get a good grade. The sticker board will be cleared after the children redeem their stickers at the end of the week and they will start fresh for the next week. This program will only be implemented when the children are relatively young and in grade school to encourage getting good grades, completing homework in a timely fashion, and responsibility/hard work with the chore aspect of the program.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
As the children get older, they will just receive more of a weekly allowance for completing the target behaviors. The goal is for them to complete these on their own without being told and to do so in a timely matter.

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
Some problems may include the children getting jealous of each others' stickers or the amount of money they save up. In addition, the chores will need to be distributed fairly so the children have an equal opportunity of obtaining stickers for chores. Same with grades and homework, some children may have homework when others don't so arguments about the program being fair could arise then. After implementing the program and trying it out for a few months, changes could be made to better reduce these potential problems.

What is your setting?
Home, when babysitting my sister.

What behavior class are you going to change?
chores...

What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)?
So that it doesn't take her all day to clean her room. I will use reinforcement to shorten the time it takes to clean her room

What type of token are you going to use?
Computer time

What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
I will have to password protect the computer and make sure she does not have access to it.

What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
Time to play with her friends, cell phone use

What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
By reinforcing her with computer time (the longer it takes her to clean her room, the shorter amount of time she is able to spend on the computer) it will hopefully motivate her to clean her room faster. I have to take into consideration how well of a job is done cleaning, as well.

What is the token value and how did you select that value?
She will start with an hour of computer time. For every 15 minutes it takes her to clean her room, she will lose 5 minutes of computer time.

What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
The bank will be me, since I will be the one babysitting. hopefully my parents will pick up on this system as well

What are the hours of operation for your bank?
after school until bedtime

Who will you need to explain your program to?
my parents

How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
Tell my mom exactly what I plan on doing, and that we will have to remain strict with my sister.

What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
As my sister gets older, she will be allowed more computer time or computer time can be replaced with things that she will be interested in (time allowed to use the car, curfew, etc)

Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
She may not care about the goal and still take all day to clean anyway, she may find something better to play with in her room. In this case, I honestly have no idea what I would do next becasue my parents and I have tried everything from throwing everything out in her room, to standing over her and helping her.

I like how Melissa uses different color chips to distinguish different values.

I also like how mrpaige identified a potential problem with the kids working together to maximize their point gain and address how he would handle it by having the resident help a new person everyday.

Another problem I just thought of (and I know we discussed in class) is the issue of hoarding. If the resident doesn't spend any points then they don't get to utilize priveleges (possibly stemming from anti-social behavior). If we see a pattern of hoarding we can reduce their points by a certain percentage each week so they don't have a huge sum of points or we can talk with them at nightly med time about why they don't want to spend points and try to find a privelege they'd enjoy doing to spend points on. However, most kids want to leave campus, so I don't think hoarding out of anti-social behavior would be a huge problem.

What is your setting?
The Setting I am going to target is my family and house when I am older.
What behavior class are you going to change?
The Behavior Class that I am going to change is my children reading a book (or when they get older a couple of chapters) before they go to bed.
What are the target behaviors you are going to change though reinforcement (Keep in mind the use of DROs)? The target behavior is reading a book (or a chapter depending on age) before they go to bed at night. I am going to use the determining factors of what is required in them for school as the when they reach the chapter book stage. I would like them to be reading chapter books before they are presented with them in the school system so I will gage that accordingly. (Yet this will be figured out beforehand)
What type of token are you going to use?
The tokens I am going to use are check marks on a board that graphs success of the reading project.
What are some considerations for the use of these tokens?
The token will be given on a nightly and monthly basis. They will be award a check mark at the end of every night on a chart and then at the end of every month they will have to have a certain percentage (say 80%) of the nights having accomplished this goal. If this is achieved then they will receive some type of reinforcement.
What are you going to use for the backup reinforcers?
The backup reinforces will be awarded at the end of each month when they meet the 80 percent goal line. This privilege will be a game or some type of gift or toy depending on the age of the individual. As they get older money would be considered.
What was your rationale for choosing these reinforcers?
Children always like getting rewarded for something that they accomplished. Hopefully this set up with encourage reading which will allow them to excel in life and provide a goal oriented behavior that is dependable.
What is the token value and how did you select that value?
The rational for this reinforce is that if they reach the 80 percent goal lone that means they are reading 24 nights out of an average of 30 nights a month. This is an attainable goal due to the fact that on weekends and some nights during the week they may have sports or other types of activities that might interfere with this goal.
What are you using for a bank and how did you arrive at that decision?
For the bank I will serve as this position because I am part of the people running the house. I will have the board and be able to mark off whether or not this was accomplished.
What are the hours of operation for your bank?
The hours start after school and exceed to the evening before bed.
Who will you need to explain your program to?
I will explain my program to my children.
How will you go about explaining your program (what will you actually say)?
I will tell them that they will have to read a book or a chapter(s) of a book before they go to bed at night. This can happen anywhere between the hours they get off from school till it is time to go to bed. When they have accomplished this task they will get a check mark. At the end of each month they will be average on the days they completed this task and if they are at 80 percent or higher they will receive a game, toy, money, etc.
What is your plan for reducing the need for tokens to maintain the target behavior?
As they get older this time will be spent enjoying reading and I will slowly change the target behavior to completing a book.
Looking back at your token economy you have planned, what are some potential problems you should anticipate and plan for?
The homework the children will have might interfere will the additional reading but if you start the children early enough then it will help defer this concept.