What I would like you to do for this homework is to have some fun and find some websites places or organizations that use or tried to use token economies. Please try to incorporate the behavioral terms we are learning into your writing and some material from the lecture on token economies.
1) Please discuss your topic in general, why it interests you (or not) and how it relates to behavior modification.
2) Post at least 2 links to the sites you visited that were most informative about token economies.
3) Discuss how these sites further expanded your understanding of token economies (kind of like a conclusion).
4) Make a list of behavioral terms you used in this post (this is to help get you focused on using behavioral terms in your regular writings).
Thanks.
1) The site I chose discusses the use of a token economy in two elementary classrooms. One teacher used an auction system and gave each student a certain number of poker chips at the beginning of the week. Students received more poker chips for kind or helpful behaviors and had to give poker chips back to the teacher for behaving in an unacceptable manner. On a particular day during the last week of school, students could use their accumulated chips to participate in a classroom auction. The second teacher used a classroom store and awarded students with fake money when they completed certain tasks or behaved in an acceptable manner. Then, students could use their money to buy things or privileges from the teacher’s super store.
I chose this website because I will soon be working as an elementary teacher and was curious about other teachers’ method for implementing a token economy system in their classroom. This topic relates to behavior modification because it involves providing children with positive and negative reinforcement for classroom behaviors.
2) http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev115.shtml
http://www.mspowell.com/tokensystem.html
3) These sites further expanded my understanding of token economies by showing me how this type of economy has been used in a real-life situation. Also, the sites gave me ideas of possible ways that I could use a token economy, as well as positive and negative reinforcement and rewards, in my early childhood or elementary classroom. I enjoyed reading the teacher’s description of the system and their evaluation of its success with students. I am curious as to how the management system would have worked for the teachers if they had only used positive reinforcement and rewards, rather than any form of punishment.
4) Token economy, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, rewards, punishment
1.)I think that token economies are pretty interesting. Token economies are something that I can apply in real life situations without taking too much time and effort. For example, if I ever have children, I could use this method to positively reinforce my child’s behavior. In general, I think token economies are very helpful in changing behaviors. In behavioral terms, they could elicit a desired behavior. And this fits right in with Behavior Modification because that is what it is all about – changing behaviors. Overall, from what I have learned from class and from the sites I have visited, token economies seem to be very effective and manageable.
2.) http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Token-economy-system.html
http://www.myclassroommanagement.com/consequences-and-rewards/token-economy-basics/daily-token-economy/
3.)From the first site I found, it listed the definition of a token economy as a form of behavior modification that increases desirable behavior and decreases undesirable behavior. It also further described the purpose, description, risks, abnormal results, and normal results of this method. According to this article the overall purpose is basically the definition – to increase desired behavior and decrease undesirable behavior. The overall description is a little more complex. In every token economy there are several basic elements. You need tokens, a target behavior, back-up reinforcers, a system for exchanging tokens, a system for recording data, and a consistent reward for the same behavior. There are some risks involved, but mostly they have to do with staff. Things might not work right if the staff is not trained to look for the right behaviors, etc. Lastly are the abnormal and normal results. Basically the individual will decrease the undesired behavior (normal) or increase the desired behavior (abnormal).
The second site I found based things off a system you could use at a school. In the example that was used, students are given a token for following emitting the desired behavior and lose for emitting an undesirable behavior. So in other words – the student’s are positively reinforced for following rules and negatively reinforced for breaking them. This article then went on to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using this system. Some benefits were that the system would be easy for the teacher to set up and maintain. Another is that the students get to start over each day. The last one they talked about was that the students are reinforced at the end of the day. The consequence of their actions will determine what the student gets to buy at the end of the day. So in the context, the more tokens a student has the higher priced item the student can buy. In addition to this students can also save up there tokens for higher priced items and there is a special system set up for this. Overall, the consequence of the student’s behavior will either increase their tokens or decrease their tokens. The major drawback is that students could be discouraged from the very start by having to start over each day. For example, the ones who do a good job of behaving every day could get discouraged by having to start over if there is not an option to save.
4.)positively reinforce, behaviors, elicit, desirable, emitting, negatively reinforced, reinforced, consequence, context
1)The token economy program that I found is one that is an example of token economies in the retail world. Many businesses and companies use punch cards, in fact, even the deli that I work at uses a punch card to encourage patrons to return. After 7 sandwiches your 8th one is free. Because you elicited the behavior of purchasing 7 sandwiches, we emit the behavior of giving you a free one, which serves as a positive reinforcer.
The website that I am using for this comment is Sephora.com. Sephora is like a department store for beauty supplies. Sephora uses what they call their "Beauty insider" and "VIB (Very important beauty insider)" programs. The programs are set on a points system. $1 spent at Sephora or Sephora.com=1 point. One 100 point are obtained a customer can receive a free sample size product of their choice. Once they reach 500 points they can receive a bigger reward. If a customer spends over $350 at sephora in one year they have obtained the VIB level. At the VIB level a customer can receive even more "beauty perks." Sephora is a store that carries many different lines of makeup, perfume, skin care, hair care, ect. All of their lines can be found at other places. Sephora uses the beauty insider card in order to encourage their customers to but from their store. I know it has worked on me before. Because I know that I am positively reinforced when I purchase my products from Sephora rather than from another store.
2)http://sephora.com/beautyinsider/index.jhtml;jsessionid=TC0IWWVKYUTSOCV0KQNQX0Q,
http://sephora.com/go/VIB/index.jhtml
3) Though, I've got a lot of points on my sephora rewards card. I had no idea about all of the options that the program has. I thought it was a simple rewards program. But it certainly did expand my knowledge of token economies with all of the different levels of reinforcement that can be obtained. And the desirable outcome that it results in for both the customer and the store.
4) emit, elicit, positive reinforcer, desirable
1) The website that I researched to find out more about a token economy was the Buckle website. The Buckle, which is a retail store, as something call the "Buckle 'Primo' Card." Every time you spend $10 at the Buckle, you get a punch, and once fill the card with punches, you receive $10 off your next purchase. I think token economies are very interesting because a lot of people implement them all the time without even knowing it. They are a very useful tool for classrooms, merchandisers, and families. They can be used in many different ways, so each token economy is very unique. This very much relates to behavior modification because you are using this strategy to manipulate someones behavior. For example, the Buckle reinforces you with $10 off after you already have spent $300, which seems desirable to the buyer.
2) The Buckle token economy: http://www.buckle.com/info/info.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395181121&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673642831&bmUID=1271886543799
American Eagle token economy: https://aerewards.ae.com/
3) These websites taught me that token economies are everywhere. I participate in these token economies and never even knew it, and I'm sure there are many other people who feel the same way. Now that I'm looking at them in a different way, $10 off when you have already spent $300 at the Buckle seems outrageous. BUT, it works and people, including myself, get excited when their card is full of punches. Token economies are definitely helpful for a variety of reasons, but especially because they give people something to work towards, and when they reach that goal, they get reinforced but eliciting a certain behavior.
4) manipulate, reinforces, desirable, reinforced, eliciting
1) The type of token economy that I chose to research was in the fast food restaurant industry. I have noticed throughout my life time that fast food restaurants are more and more using token economy concepts to market their products. I will specifically be focusing on how this is shown through games at McDonald's and Subway. The restaurants give out game pieces (which act as a token) as positive reinforcement for each time that some food item is purchased at the store. This relates to behavior modification because the restaurant owners are trying to increase the frequency of customers visiting the store by offering incentives that have greater reinforcement for every additional time they come to the store.
2) Subway token economy
http://www.onlinescrabbledictionary.com/subway-scrabble-game/
McDonald's token economy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Monopoly
3) In both of these sites, the concept is that the more food items you buy, the more tokens you get. Then once you have a certain number or combination of tokens, you can redeem them for some kind-of a prize. Thus, the customer is positively reinforced for emitting more and more purchasing behaviors. The interesting thing about these token economies is that often the prize when the customer turns in their tokens is more food from the restaurant, which is how they got the token in the first place. The backup reinforcers in both of these cases would be the primary reinforcer of eating. These restaurants successfully constructed a token bank too by making the tokens into stickers and having the customers stick them on a corresponding spot on a game board. Although some of the prizes are not too exciting (a free drink or something), some can be very reinforcing consequences. McDonald's even claims to have given away one million dollars.
4) Terms used - positive reinforcement, emit, backup reinforcer, primary reinforcer, token bank, consequence
1) I think that token economies are a good idea in obtaining desired behaviors. I remember when I was little my mother made a sticker board and we would get a sticker everytime we did one of our chores. If we completed our weekly chores on time we would receive an allowance. The allowance served as a secondary reinforcer to buy desired products equivalent to a backup reinforcer. For this project, I decided to look up an example of a token economy in the classroom setting and one in the restaurant setting. I think it is interesting to see how the two differ and how they may be able to influence each other.
2) The first link I found exemplifies a teacher's token economy in the classroom:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev115.shtml
In this article, teacher Donna Kelley created a token economy with her students after spring break to keep them focused until the end of year. For her tokens, she used chips. One chip represented one dollar in "Kelley Kash." To prevent theft or loss, each chip was assigned a student number and each student was required to keep track of their own chips. Each student started out with 10 chips per week and they could earn more chips by turning in assignments on time, acts of kindness, etc. The chips could then be redeemed at the end of the year at an auction where they could buy stuff with their Kelley cash. The article goes into further detail about Kelley's system, but that is a short overview of her token economy.
The second link I found is to Casey's pizza website:
http://www.caseys.com/coupons.html
I was trying to find something about Casey's pizza special that they use where if you buy 10 large pizzas, the 11th is free. On each of the large pizza boxes is this coupon; once you collect 10, you can bring all of them in and redeem them for a free large pizza. I wasn't able to find a website with that information, therefore, I just posted Casey's general website which may have information about this system. This works somewhat like a token economy, because the franchise is trying to reinforce people to come back and buy more pizza in an effort to get one free. This coupons off the boxes act as the "tokens" and the actual Casey's store acts as the "bank" where these coupons can be redeemed for a free pizza. The coupons are the secondary reinforcer which are used to purchase the backup/primary reinforcer of food (in this case pizza).
3) Token economies are used in several settings - the classroom, restaurants, personal homes, etc. We are constantly trying to obtain secondary reinforcers to purchase backup reinforcers that we either desire or need for survival. If properly developed and carried out, token economies can prove to be very successfull and effective in their overall goal of obtaining a certain target behavior.
4) token economies, primary reinforcer, secondary reinforcer, backup reinforcer, token bank, target behavior, desired behavior,
1) In class we mainly discussed token economies being used for manipulating behaviors of young children. For this post I decided to research more basic information on token economies, as well as, the use of a token economy for adults in a job setting. I worked for a telemarketing company when I was younger and they implemented a token economy system to use as a motivator for sales. I found it interesting that most of those who busted their butts to get recognized, were generally younger people. I decided to research companies that used a token economy to see if their "successful" economy elicited participation from adults.
2) Basic information on token economies.
http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html
Since I personally (that I can recall) don't have much firsthand experience in dealing with token economies I figured a brief overview and basic information may help out someone in search of this information. This first link provides information on token economy goals, methods, and guidelines. We went over some of this information in class on Tuesday, however, I feel the review can't hurt.
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Article on a coal mining company that implemented a token economy to increase safety and decrease injuries.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1286011/pdf/jaba00101-0013.pdf
Upon searching for companies that implemented token economies, I came across this article/study about a coal mining company that used a token economy system at two sites to promote and maintain a safer workplace. We all know coal mining can be a very dangerous job so this definitely perked my interest. This company used a "stamp" method in which workers earned a stamp for: not damaging equipment while in use, not incurring injuries that resulted in lost work time, coming up with improved safety procedures, unusual behavior that prevented an accident, and being in groups with other safe workers. On the other side of the token however, workers would LOSE stamps if they were injured or their group members were injured, failed to report accidents or injuries, or if they caused damage to equipment. Employees could then redeem stamps at stores designated by the company. The companies ongoing efforts showed a decrease in work related injuries.
3) There is no doubt in my mind that token economies can be an effective way of manipulating a target behavior. For the coal mining example, the tokens were a pleasurable consequence for completing their work safely. Also, by having work groups, employees were more apt to follow "the rules" so they would not let a fellow worker down or lose tokens. A benefit of the TE in the coal mining example is that workers could purchase goods (backup reinforcers) that the person desired. These goods could also be primary reinforcers (food, water, etc). By implementing goals aimed at one (or several) target behaviors, people can see great benefits from the TE system.
4) Target behavior, backup reinforcer, token economy, primary reinforcer, elicit, consequence
1) I Google'd 'token ecomony' and found that these sneaky things are everywhere. Retail, credit cards, school, restaurants, etc. I chose to look into token economies used in a drug rehabilitation setting. Overcoming addiction is a hard and painful process. Getting a small incentive for your hardwork would be appreciated. Alcohol Anonymous uses medallions when members acheive a certain goal or step.
2) This first link is a site that has a very simple, yet clear desrciption of token economies and includes a breif history and a blurb about the future of token economies.
http://www.kidsmakingchange.com/TokenEconomy/cms/Token_Economy.html
This link takes you to a journal article where the use of a token economy produced positive results in a methodone clinic. If clients paid their fees on time and kept their appointments they were reinforced with a punch on a card that they could redeem for 'late' doses of methodone. Results showed a significant increase in patient responsibility in paying fees and keeping appointments.
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED189534&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED189534
3) I had never heard the term token ecomony, but after discussing it in class and researching it online I found that I've been participating in token economies for sometime. I have punch cards to a few stores, sticker charts in elementary school, and most recently when I worked at Bremwood. I've learned that the tokens are secondary reinforcers that are used as a positive reinforcement when someone emits a desired behavior.
4) Token ecomony, reinforced, secondary reinforcer, emit, positive reinforcement
My first article I found was about this teacher Mrs. Kelley who designed a form of token economy for her classroom from Spring break until the end of the year so that her students would keep them wanting to learn until the end of the year. Her positive reinforcement was tokens that consisted of a dollar in Kelley Kash and they would have to hold onto them until the end of the year. If they emitted desired behaviors such as turning in homework assignments on time, Mrs. Kelley would give them a chip. At the end of the year you could turn in your chips for sweet prizes.
1)http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev115.shtml
My Next article that I found on token economies was an article actually used in the area of schizophrenia. Since token economies are used as a behavioral therapy, this article describes how they are going to use token economy on people who have schizophrenia. It seemed to have effects on negative symptoms for the patients when they practiced token economy!
2)http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001473.html
These relate to behavior modification because we are using positive reinforcements to modify people’s behaviors to get positive outcomes.
In reflection I think I’d say this tactic sounds successful!
Terms used: positive reinforcement, behavior, emitted, token economy, desired behaviors, negative symptoms.
My first article I found was about this teacher Mrs. Kelley who designed a form of token economy for her classroom from Spring break until the end of the year so that her students would keep them wanting to learn until the end of the year. Her positive reinforcement was tokens that consisted of a dollar in Kelley Kash and they would have to hold onto them until the end of the year. If they emitted desired behaviors such as turning in homework assignments on time, Mrs. Kelley would give them a chip. At the end of the year you could turn in your chips for sweet prizes.
1)http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev115.shtml
My Next article that I found on token economies was an article actually used in the area of schizophrenia. Since token economies are used as a behavioral therapy, this article describes how they are going to use token economy on people who have schizophrenia. It seemed to have effects on negative symptoms for the patients when they practiced token economy!
2)http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001473.html
These relate to behavior modification because we are using positive reinforcements to modify people’s behaviors to get positive outcomes.
In reflection I think I’d say this tactic sounds successful!
Terms used: positive reinforcement, behavior, emitted, token economy, desired behaviors, negative symptoms.
1) Please discuss your topic in general, why it interests you (or not) and how it relates to behavior modification.
I looked at token economies within the classroom as I will be a future educator myself. It relates to Bmod because token economies are used to address specific behavioral goals of your student. It's pretty much using the concept of money within our society and economy today and implementing that within a classroom environment.
2) Post at least 2 links to the sites you visited that were most informative about token economies.
http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html
http://www.behavioradvisor.com/Tokens.html
3) Discuss how these sites further expanded your understanding of token economies (kind of like a conclusion).
The first website gives a great description of a token economies ability to meet a number of educational and behavioral goals for childrenToken economies can be used to meet a number of educational and behavioral goals for children:
* Increased ability to delay gratification -- Token systems are a great way to build a child's ability to wait for reinforcing items or activities. They concretely relate to the child just how more he has to do before he gets to do something really fun.
* Increased sense of time -- Token systems can help kids who have little sense of time become more aware of how long they have been at a task and how much longer they will have to remain at that task.
* Lessened satiation -- By increasing the number of responses necessary to obtain a primary (or strong secondary) reinforcer, token economies can lower the rate at which the child becomes satiated with a particular form of reinforcement.
* Increased teaching rate -- Even relatively brief reinforcement can greatly slow down the rate of instruction if you're having to deliver it after every response (as in a discrete trial setting). Rewarding a response with a token is quick, and allows for speedy, more fluid instruction.
* More natural reinforcement -- In most school settings, it's not terribly common to see teachers walking around handing out Fruit Loops, or passing out bubbles after every correct answer. Using tokens to delay the presentation of those more obvious reinforcers can be less obtrusive in the classroom.
* Increased selection of reinforcers -- Because reinforcement is being delivered after several responses than after each response, longer-lasting, possibly more reinforcing items or activities could be chosen for reinforcement. As an example, if one were conducting quick verbal drills, it's probably not terribly effective to use a video as a reinforcer for each correct response. Even just a few seconds of a video after each response can bog down rate of interaction and possibly result in the loss of attention. But, if a child finds a video especially rewarding, he may be willing to work for several (even dozens) of tokens to earn a chance to watch.
The second website is a great website illustrating how to set up and use a token economy as well as including various activities and discussion question regarding a token economy.
The following is the first four steps listed on how to use a token economy:
1. Select the behaviors to be rewarded. The behaviors to be reinforced should be in concert with classroom rules and guidelines.
2. State the desired behaviors in specific and observable terms. If at all possible, phrase them in a positive manner. Be sure to tell the student what to do (the desired action), rather than what not to do (e.g., "Raise hand before talking" rather than "No speaking out"). Promote a replacement behavior for the inappropriate action. That replacement behavior should serve the same internal need and serve the same purpose as the present incorrect behavior.
3. Decide how you will measure the behaviors (e.g., percentage correct, number of minutes engaged in proper behavior, number of times student emits appropriate behavior).
4. Decide where to monitor the behaviors (e.g., only in the classroom or also in the lunchroom and on the bus).
4) Make a list of behavioral terms you used in this post (this is to help get you focused on using behavioral terms in your regular writings).
Reinforcers, secondary reinforcers, token economy, emits, satiation, behavior, natural reinforcement, reward/punishment
Token economies are a carefully thought out application of behavior modification techniques with the specific purpose of maximizing the efficiency of both increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable or problematic behaviors.
I find this topic interesting for at least two reasons. First it is the pinnacle (one of them at least) of achievement for an ‘expert’ in BMod to create an effective token economy, and secondly because most token economies are terribly organized and inefficient, and most people who are in a position to create them have very few if any, of the tools necessary to make them effective. I find that last fact particularly interesting. It is a testament to the effectiveness of BMod techniques that even if you use them terribly they often are still powerful enough to have a significant effect.
2) http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html
The site above is a resource for teaching children with autism. The specific link is to an area of the page where it discusses very basically, what a token economy is, and various ways in which it can be implemented.
Token economies are particularly useful for autistic children and those with severe learning disabilities for a number of reasons which go beyond the basic idea of being rewarded and reinforced for emitting behaviors. It is this area I would like to focus on in regards to this website. The author introduces the idea of Token Economies elsewhere on the website by explaining that they are a great segue from continuous reinforcement to delayed schedules of reinforcement that we learned in class (VR, FR, VI, FI).
Of particular help to special needs children are the following inherent benefits of a token economy: an ‘increased ability to delay gratification’, an ‘increased sense of time’, and also the nature of a well designed token economy allows for maximized control over behaviors while minimizing the amount of change necessary to the environment. Naturally special needs populations will greatly benefit from a situation that is as calming, organized, and relaxed as they would be in their natural environment. Basically the site explains that it would be unusual for a teacher to carry around a bag of toys and hand them out to kids whenever they do something good; similarly this would then encourage children to play with the toys immediately, etc. etc. A well organized token economy allows for the same amount of reinforcement as a toy, without the disruption that it might bring with it.
Other information on the site was very similar to that discussed in your power point lecture. They mentioned that it is very important to carefully select the type of token, how it will be administered, where it will be stored, and most importantly to explain in detail how the system works so that the children understand how to get the tokens, and also all that they will gain from earning them and turning them in. Since the children need to fully understand everything about the system in order for it to be effective the system then, must also be very simple, and specifically developed based on the population you are using. Naturally children with autism or ADHA, etc., will need a simpler program than would be acceptable in an adult setting, at someone’s workplace, etc.
http://www.autismservicesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/using-a-token-economy-to-reinforce-classroom-participation.pdf
I cheated a little bit here as this is really a short journal article on the implementation of a token economy in a college level classroom. The study was quite basic and not designed to be a landmark case study in the effectiveness of token economies but serves well to illustrate many of the idea’s discussed in class.
Over an 11 week course an ABA research design was used, recording the number of non-directed responses, the number of directed responses, as well as response latency both before and after a token economy intervention was implemented. The researchers used wood from a set of checkers as tokens, and the class was informed that the first person to answer the question after being asked would receive the token. At the end of the class-time each chip could be exchanged for 1 point on their next exam (.25% of their total grade); tokens must be exchanged immediately after class to be awarded the points.
To summarize the results during the token economy directed responses doubled from 1.6 to 3.6, and response latency decreased from 6 seconds to just over ½ of a second. The researchers also collected data on non-directed responses and, as expected, these almost tripled, from 9.5 to 21.75, during the token economy intervention. All of the response rates reverted back towards the baseline after the intervention was removed but it is important to note that all of them were still above the baseline, specifically response latency was still half that of the baseline indicating to the authors at least, that token economies may have some kind of lasting effect on ‘speed of participation.'
3) These sites gave a great example of the large number of things you need to take into consideration when putting together a token economy (website 1), as well as a quantifiable measure of what improvements under a token economy might look like (website 2). Provided you remember the basics, and apply them carefully token economies are a very simple and efficient way of reinforcing desirable behaviors while simultaneously avoiding punishment and minimally changing the context and the environment in which the learning occurs.
4) Terms (6): token economy, response, continuous reinforcement, schedules of reinforcement, emit, context.
1) The sites I chose both relate well to token economies. They both elicit certain behaviors from people (shoppers and children), and they use reinforcement. The Old Navy Visa has a points system that reinforces their customers for using the card. They get 5 points for every dollar they spend at Old Navy (or it's sister stores), and then 1 point for every dollar spent at other stores. When they reach 1,000 points, they get $10 to use in the store. This system elicits a spending behavior, that is especially tailored to Old Navy. The shoppers earn their rewards much faster if they use their cards at Old Navy, but are still rewarded a little bit for using their cards at all.
The second website is a token economy that a teacher uses in order to get children to emit behaviors. She doesn't use continuous reinforcement though, because she doesn't reward every child for everything they do correctly. I think it sounds like a pretty good system to use for a classroom. I'm really interested in using token economies in home settings, but I wasn't able to find a website about it.
2) http://oldnavy.gap.com/customerService/info.do?cid=44689
http://www.mspowell.com/tokensystem.html
3)I think token economies are really interesting, and seem to be extremely effective. When I eventually have a family I will probably implement a system for my children. Although some systems could be set up better (like selecting better reinforcers or tokens), usually the systems still work fairly well. These websites helped me realize how many people/companies use token economies to reward their customers/employees/students. I have punch cards from tons of stores, and also a few credit cards that use rewards systems. It's so interesting!
4) Elicit, reinforcement, emit, token economy, reward, continuous reinforcement
1) I searched “token economy classroom management” to see what methods are used in the classroom. I am sincerely interested in this topic because I want all the advice possible for managing a classroom. I don’t want to use rewards as bribes but I do want students to stay on task. In my classroom management class, we have been discussing different theorists and what they suggest. I have heard theories such as using rewards and punishment to letting the students do what they want as long as the teacher provides a warm and caring environment. I do and do not agree with some of the theorists’ ideas. What I really want students to do is become intrinsically motivated to do the educational tasks asked of them. I do believe for that to happen, it will take time and I may need to start with extrinsic motivation. I want to avoid punishment as much as possible, but there will also be those extreme cases that demand it. I want the classroom to provide a warm and welcoming community where all the students feel the need to interact but in a positive and kind manner. For this “dream community” to take place, it may take a lot of reinforcing at the beginning. One factor may also depend upon the students in the classroom.
2) Post at least 2 links to the sites you visited that were most informative about token economies.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev115.shtml
http://www.myclassroommanagement.com/consequences-and-rewards/token-economy-basics/daily-token-economy/
3) The first site helped me see how token economy was used in classrooms and for what purpose. The teacher used the method I’m about to address as a way to reinforce good behaviors while having a little fun. The method used in one classroom was with chips. Each Monday, the students started with ten chips that had numbers written on them to identify the students’ chips incase they got lost or stolen. One chip equaled one dollar in Kelly Kash (the teacher’s name). Students could earn Kelly Kash for returning assignments on time, producing kind behaviors, etc. When aversive behaviors occurred, the Kelly Kash would go in Kelly’s account. Every Friday, students recorded their earnings and updated the information is their notebooks. The teacher also kept a record of the information to make sure it all matched up. On Monday, all the chips were given back to the students to start over again. At the end of the school year, the students were able to use the Kelly Kash at the auction the teacher held. The teacher had collected toys from grandchildren, stuff bought at garage sales, and things she had collected over the years. To get the students fired up for the auction, the teacher would put some of the “coolest” things on show for the students. I thought this all worked out nicely.
The second resource gave more details on how to address the procedure with the students. The website showed the rules hanging up on the board and the “shop” that the tokens could be used to purchase things at. It addresses the issue of younger children trying to save tokens up and how they lose them easily. The teacher needs to make a system where the students can store the tokens while the students save them.
4. aversive, behavior, token economy, reward, punishment, reinforce
1.The first site is a creditcard site that offers 1% to 20% cashback on purchases. I never had a creditcard in high school but when I got to college my parents thought it would be a good idea. At first I had no reason to use it because I could just use a check or use the ATM. Eventually I started using it for large purchases such as books and rent. Later that year I noticed I had a stored points system on every statement that I could use for cashback or items in their online store. I soon used my creditcard for a lot of things so that every once and a while I could get cashback from my purchases. I was reinforced for using my creditcard by the points I would accumulate. Also, my frequency of using my creditcard increased as I knew I would get a reward.
the other site I looked at just gave a good description of a token economy and gave some examples of them being used in psychiatric hospitals or correctional facilities. The primary goal is to increase the desired behavior and decrease the undesirable behavior. These token economies are often used to manage people who can be aggressive and unpredictable. For a token economy to work you need to have a token. some things the site considered were good for use of tokens were things that are attractive, easy to carry and dispense, and difficult to counterfeit.(sounds a lot like money)One aspect I found interesting was that tokens should be awarded frequently and in higher amounts early on. As people learn the desirable behavior they will be offered fewer and fewer tokens. These changes in amounts of tokens offered to the people would be an example of a reinforcement schedule.
2.
https://www.chase.com/credit-cards.htm
http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Token-economy-system.html
3. I've heard of a token economy before, but I didn't relate it to spending money and getting stuff back. I always thought of it in fake terms with fake money. I realize now that many stores and credit cards offer these incentives for increasing your behavior(desired behavior) for purchasing items. The exchanging of the tokens are easy because its done online at any hour of the day. Most people are in easy access of a computer so this makes it even more easier. Their token bank is pretty easy to understand. When you spend money, it is stored in their records. You dont get a physical item as a token so there are no worries about losing them or keeping track of them. I only use my credit card for larger purchases and always when I know I have money to pay the bill off when it comes. To me its the same as using a check, but at the end of the month you are rewarded with points.
The other site just gave me a better idea as to the people and situations where a token economy could be used in. Most sites that I googled talked about using a token economy in a classroom setting. This article talked about using them for correctional facilities and pyschiatric patients. The site just gave me more to read about as well to better understand a token economy.
4.reinforce, reinforcement schedule, reward, token economy, desired behavior, token bank,
1. This site discussed a token economies step-by-step instructions. This demonstrates the implementation in your elementary classroom to increase on-task behavior during reading lessons. This token economy is targeted to reduce behaviors you have may have difficulty with in class, such as socializing and wandering around the room. With this token economy, students will earn points when on-task behaviors are displayed, such as sitting in their seat, or being quiet during the lessons. Students will earn points when appropriate behaviors are displayed and will be able to use these points at the end of the week to purchase reinforcing items or activities, such as stickers, books, acting as the line leader, or computer time. At the beginning of the implementation, the students will be provided with a list of targeted behaviors, their point value, and a list of rewards. The following are step-by-step instructions to implement this token economy.
Explain the token economy at the beginning of the week, on a Monday morning, before the inappropriate behaviors have started to occur and so you can implement the economy after you introduce it and before you start your lesson plans.
Write on the chalkboard or on poster board, the following list of behaviors that are targeted for change and their point value. Explain each behavior to the children so that they have a clear understanding what target behaviors you are looking for.
Behavior Point Value
In seat with materials ready at the beginning of class 1
In seat during reading period 1
Quiet during reading lesson 2
2. http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sample+Token+Economy+System+for+Elementary+Teachers+to+Increase+...-a01073763498
3. I have learned a great deal of information. These web sites has increased my understanding of token economies. The primary goal of a token economy is to increase desirable behavior and decrease undesirable behavior. Often token economies are used in institutional settings to manage the behavior of individuals who may be aggressive or unpredictable. Money is probably the token economy system that is most well-known. There is nothing particularly motivating about little bits of green paper. However, because we can use those green papers to buy food, housing, entertainment, etc. they can become extremely reinforcing, and we are willing to do a lot of work to obtain them. Token systems are a great way to build a child's ability to wait for reinforcing items or activities. They concretely relate to the child just how more he has to do before he gets to do something really fun. In most school settings, it's not terribly common to see teachers walking around handing out Fruit Loops, or passing out bubbles after every correct answer. Using tokens to delay the presentation of those more obvious reinforcers can be less obtrusive in the classroom.
4. token economy targeted reinforcing desirable behavior rewards.
1) Almost two years ago, I was a participant in a token economy. I was in a hospital for a week and the patients were all participants in the economy. We were on a points reward system. Because we were in the hospital for a variety of negative behaviors, we had the opportunity to earn six points in every activity we were involved in based on our behaviors. At the end of each activity we were asked how we thought we did and how many points we thought we should get. The staff would then tell us what they thought and why. Once we got to a certain number of points, we were given the option of our rewards. The more points we got, the more priveleges we were given. Some of the rewards included a snack like a candy bar at night while watching a movie, TV/Playstation time, and being allowed a clock in our rooms, which was my personal goal as music was, and still is, a very effective positive reinforcer for me. We did not lose points for bad behaviors, but did not gain any either. This allowed good behaviors to be reinforced, and aversive behaviors to be neither reinforced nor punished. In most cases and overall, the system was very effective in terms of behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
2-3) http://www.usu.edu/teachall/text/behavior/LRBIpdfs/Token.pdf
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This web address is actually a link to a pdf file explaining and breaking down token economies. It starts with a definition of a token economy, followed by a checklist to help guide the reader as he or she sets up their token economy. The checklist includes: "pinpoint behaviors to change," "build the token economy," and "implement the program." These are then broken down into sub-categories, which explain how to effectively set up and run the token economy. This is followed by "variations on the technique" and is finished with identifying possible problems and solutions with an economy. The information provided in this pdf is quite similar to what we went over in class and is very helpful.
http://www.kidsmakingchange.com/TokenEconomy/cms/Token_Economy.html
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This website begins by answering the question "what are token economies?" After explaining and describing the economy, the website addresses the history and future of token economies, finishing with a dictionary definition of token economy. There are multiple opportunities on this web page to sign up for a membership and join KidsMakingChange. Just above the dictionary definition, there is a link to a page that shows what a membership entails. These benefits include articles, latest news, discounts, and monthly newsletters. This website would be very beneficial to teachers or parents planning to set up a token economy.
4) Token economy, behavior, positive reinforcer, reinforced, aversive, punished, behavior modification, positive reinforcement
I know this is late but I wanted to post anyways.
Token economies are extremely interesting to me because of the type of setting I work in. I've learned that trying to change a juvenile delinquents behavior is very difficult. We have tried several different methods to see what works best for the kids we work with but can't seem to ever get it quite right. I think that if we use a token economy correctly we could help our residents learn what behaviors are appropriate and teach them to implement them in their everyday life.
The first website I checked out was the Midland County Juvenile Care Center. This website didn't give a lot of information but did say that they use a token economy in the facility. They use a point system to elicit appropriate behaviors from the residents. The points act as positive reinforcement for the kids which gets them to elicit the behaviors more frequently. The residents can then use the points to purchase privileges such as the opportunity to play games or get things like stationary.
http://www.co.midland.mi.us/departments/about.php?id=18
The second website gave much more information. It is actually an article about a study done on token economies used with delinquents in a youth facility. They trained their staff on how to use them and made sure that they did tests for reliability. There were 3 cottages that used the token economies. They rated different target behaviors in the areas such as how they handled walking to and from dinner, cottage behaviors before dinner and cottage behaviors after dinner (things like activities, interactions with peers, and interactions with adults). They used paper tokens for reinforcement. The youths could then spend their tokens on things like home visits, cigarettes (I questioned this), pop, and candy. In all of the cottages the use of appropriate behaviors emitted by the residents increased dramatically. They never mentioned the use of punishment in the article which leads me to believe that only positive reinforcement was used.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1311924/?page=1
I was given a lot of ideas on how to try and propose a token economy in my community at work. We've been using both positive reinforcement and negative punishment to try to change residents behaviors. I feel that using a token economy may be a more effective technique to use with the residents we have.
terms: token economy, elicit, positive reinforcement, target behavior, emit, punishment, negative punishment
1. The token economy I chose to research was Pac Suns "pac loot". It's interesting to me because my boyfriend is a junkie for these, and feels like he has to use them. It's behavior modification because if you spend X amount, you get a 25 dollar "pac loot" to use at a future date. So it's getting you to come back into the store, spend a minimum amount to use the 25 dollars.. aka basically manipulating you. They want you to emit the behavior of returning to their store so they can "reward" for it. The first website explains the idea of pacloot. The second website is a basic overview of what a token economy is.
2. http://shop.pacsun.com/customerservice/pacloot/
http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Token-economy-system.html
3. I had never heard of token economy before, and I happened to miss this class due to strep. However, after researching it online, I realized I knew what a token economy was this whole time, just never knew it has a proper name. basically, a token economy wants to increase a desirable behavior and decrease an aversive one. I think learning about this will be helpful in the future when I have children. It seems to be a pretty effective system
4. aversive, behavior, manipulate, token economy, desirable, reward, emit
1.) I found a very interesting site about token economies that actually relates to my daily life! The website states that tokens are used to increase desired behavior and decrease undesired behavior. Tokens can be anything that are visible and countable. commonly used items are tokens are: poker chips, stickers, point tallies, or play money. This relates to my life because at one of the daycare's that I work at, we give the children a play dollar everytime that they emit a desired behavior, but take one away when they emit an undesired behavior. At the end of the day they count their play money and see how much they have. There are different prizes for each dollar amount, so the more money that they get, the better prizes they get. This is a great why to get the desired behavior that we want out of the kids and it is fun for them too!
2.) http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Token-economy-system.html
http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html
3.) This is the first time I had heard of a token economy and it is exactly what I have been doing every day with the kids at the daycare. There are many forms of token economies, but they all have one purpose, which is to reinforce after a desired behavior has occured. I believe in this method and think that I will use token economies on my children someday.
4.) Emit, reinforce, token economies, deired behavior, undesired behavior.
1) Please discuss your topic in general, why it interests you (or not) and how it relates to behavior modification.
My topic that I choose was to look at token economies in classrooms. This is of interest to me because when I think of a token economy setting this is where I feel it can be most useful.
2) Post at least 2 links to the sites you visited that were most informative about token economies.
http://www.kidsmakingchange.com/TokenEconomy/cms/Token_Economy.html
http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Token-economy-system.html
3) Discuss how these sites further expanded your understanding of token economies (kind of like a conclusion).
This expanded my knowledge of token economies I the first website because it gave future knowledge of what token economies have to offer. There was a study done working with token economies in prisons and mental facilities and I think this type of use of this behavioral process is good for the areas they have been applied. The next website has ideas and concepts about token economies and a good description of how they should go about constructing them for the best outcomes.
These token economies help provide constructive behavioral functioning and reinforcement for students that need this in order to succeed. In the students were given punishment for these tasks they didn’t complete the outcome of the goal (target behavior) would not the best consequences. If we focus on positive reinforcement and consider the antecedents, behavior, and consequences then we have a better chance of having a positive outcome.
4) Make a list of behavioral terms you used in this post (this is to help get you focused on using behavioral terms in your regular writings).
Positive reinforcement, punishment, behavior, antecedents, consequences, target behavior, goal, token economy.