Topical Blog Week #15 (due Thursday)

The program I emitted the behavior of finding online is called “CUBS Incentive Program”. This seems like a really great system. I will write the steps for a token economy from the OleMiss website, and explain the CUBS program.

1) Select tokens- the token used is called CUBS Cash. In the rule, it will only be printed on one color of paper. EXCEPT, when there is a substitute in the room. This elicits a different color token paper, but worth double, which elicits even better behavior for guests.

2) Select reinforcers- Reinforcers will first be the tickets, and after be a school wild activity.

3) Set token values- the token values, as above, and be doubled, which makes it even more reinforcing and teaches to behavior pleasantly in the presence of a subsititute (which is usually aversive to the sub because students misbehave)

4) Set reinforcer costs- There are Weekly School-wide Incentives (10 tickets to participate): Some examples are T-shirt Day, Hat Day, Slipper day, Twins Day, Extended Recess, No Homework Pass, No Uniform Day, etc. Or, there are monthly school wide incentives. Such as Freeze Pop Friday, Video game day, movie day, Karaoke, game day, etc.

These activities occur on Fridays, and extra tickets can be entered into a contest. This is a way to make sure there aren’t aversive responses to hoarding the tickets (they can’t carry over), misusing, or unequal prices.
5) Construct a bank- Arrange business hours for exchange- “Opportunities to exchange CUBS Cash for privileges/rewards will be available on a weekly and monthly basis.” Instead of spending time with individually handing out prizes and trading in, it will be a school wide participation.

6) Explain the program- the teachers will be explained the program during fall program, and begin teaching the students by generously reinforce the kids so they get the hang of it.

7) Award tokens with praise- They will be distributed on a daily basis with praise for the target behavior.

8) Diminish tokens, but maintain praise- After the introduction, the tokens will decrease, but the students will still be praised for their positive behaviors.

9) Make needed adjustments-
Some cons to this system are
1) The weekly system could be expensive
2) Could be time consuming
So some adjustments to create a more pleasurable response are to do more things like the ‘Blue Jeans’ day. The things that don’t cost could be just as reinforcing as the expensive things.
For time consuming, tickets could be given out at a certain time and not aversively take up too much time.

http://stage.redstick.com/content_lasig/media/Incentives.pdf
Pg. 6

I emitted a behavior of finding an American Eagle website that demonstrates a positively reinforced token economy.
On this site there is a link that you can click on called “AEREWARDS”. After emitting the behavior of clicking on the link I was informed of their many deals. “One Card. Three Brands. Endless Rewards.” Is the saying they use to gain the customers attention. For every dollar that is spent online or at American Eagle, Aerie, or 77kids points are totaled every 3 months, then Rewards are delivered to your front door. Once you receive 100 points you get 15% off, 200 points 20% off, 350 points 30% off, 500 points 40% off. There are also other positive reinforcers to owning an AE Rewards card such as 15% off the month of your birthday, buys 5 Aerie bras get the 6th free and member-only sales and events.
1.) Select Token: The token would be the AE Rewards card. The card is used every time the customer emits the behavior of buying an item at American Eagle, Aerie or 77kids.
2.) Select Reinforcers: The reinforce is the percentage you receive off of your entire purchase once you have so many points collected over a three month period.
3.) Set Token Values: The card itself is used as a way to charge points to your account. Without the card you would be unable to emit the behavior of saving up points in order to receive items for less in the future.
4.) Set Reinforcer Costs: Anyone that emits the behavior of shopping at any three of these stores can open a rewards card.
5.) Construct a Bank: The points that are collected last for three months and once the three months passes, your point value goes back to 0.
6.) Explain the program: I already explained it above.
7.) Award tokens with praise: Once so many points have been obtained by the shopper, they are rewarded by receiving a certain percentage off of their entire purchase.
8.) Diminish tokens but maintain praise: After three months their accounts will no longer have points. This encourages them to shop and receive points that will eventually lead to them paying less for a purchase. They will also be encouraged through other promotions that only member receive, such as specials during their birthday month and the knowledge of special deals and events.
9.) Make needed adjustments: I think points should be cleared once every six months as opposed to every three. Most college students don’t emit the behavior of going on huge shopping sprees. If they did, it would lead to an aversive consequence. It would be nice to have more time in between to obtain points, but from a business perspective I can understand why it is less.

http://www.ae.com/web/myaccount/aerewards.jsp

the token economy I emitted a behavior of finding on the internet was any elementary classroom.
1) the tokens are points on a list on the chalkboard.
2)the reinforcer is a store with toys and school supplies. Extra free time and time on the computers. Listing to the radio or a book or library time
3)Token values are in seat ready for class is 1 point, in seat during reading period 1 point, and quiet during lesson 2 points.
4)some examples of the values are eraser are 3 points, 10 minutes with a friend is 14 points, and a book is 20 points.
5) the bank was the list of points written on the chalkboard in the classroom.
6)The students would be able to cash in their token every Friday afternoon.
7) The plan is explained on Monday morning before the aversive behaviors begin to occur so the teacher can start at the begging of her lessons with the economy.
8)this particular example does not include any praise in their doling out of the points.
9)This website mentions changing rewards and point values so the children do not get sated.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sample+Token+Economy+System+for+Elementary+Teachers+to+Increase...-a01073763498

My website discussed how a token economy was emitted in order to increase the frequency of eye contact of a 5 year old boy who was diagnosed with autism. The target behaviour that was reinforced was making eye contact with the instructor for at least three seconds. When the child emitted this target behaviour, he received a token in the form of a star sticker. The reinforcement schedule used in this specific token economy was continuous reinforcement; he received a token each time he emitted the target behaviour. The child also received a backup reinforcer in the form of a 90 second break from school tasks. Before the child could receive a backup reinforcer, he had to earn ten star stickers. Because the child was autistic, I imagine that it was difficult for the instructor to explain the program to the child. The child probably had to learn about the token economy just as an animal would eventually catch on that they would be reinforced every time they pulled a lever (maybe that is a harsh comparison, but from my knowledge on autistic children, it is hard to communicate with them). In order for this program to be effective, the instructor also needs to praise the child after the target behaviour is emitted. The reinforcement schedule also needs to be constant. If it is not constantly reinforced, the child will have a hard time understanding what target behaviour to emit. Perhaps the instructor can come up with more desirable reinforcers and backup reinforcers. With more desirable reinforcers, the child may increase the frequency of the target behaviour.
http://www.educateautism.com/token-economy.html
Words used: Reinforcer, reinforcement, emit, target behavior, backup reinforcers,

I emitted the behavior of looking online to learn about an example of a token economy used in society. The example I found was about the Buckle primo frequent customer card. On the Buckle website, they discuss the card in a brief section. The Buckle frequent shopper card is given to the customer on purchases made online and in store shopping. The customer earns one punch in their card for each ten dollars they spend on merchandise in the store. This excludes tax, shipping, gift cards, and redemptions of gift cards. When the card is fully punched, the customer receives ten dollars off their future purchase at the Buckle.

Even when you shop online, you can still receive the primo card in the mail when your purchase arrives. In order for this to happen, you must click on the “to redeem your primo card, print and mail your order”. Then you will receive instructions on your card and shipping. When purchasing items in the store, you automatically receive your punches and get your card.

Like with any reward system, there are rules that are applied. One of the particular rules is that you don’t receive a punch unless you spend up to the next ten dollar limit. For example, if you spend 19.99, you only receive only one punch for ten dollars spent. Another rule to the primo card is that you cannot use the card with the purchase you receive your last punch. You must use your ten dollars off at the time of your next purchase. When using layaway, the punches are not applied. You must pay for your purchase first in order to receive your punches. If you work at the Buckle, you do not get to be issued a primo card. There is also not expiration date on the card so you can use it at any time.

This token economy issues negative reinforcement. Although you are receiving a punch for every ten dollars you spend, it takes off money out of your purchase once you fill up your card. By taking away spending money, you are taking away something negative which is considered negative reinforcement.

Since the Buckle is a more expensive store, it is easy to send a lot of money with one trip. This is nice with the primo card because you get more punches with each purchase. This is good because then you are receiving rewards more often.

http://www.buckle.com/info/guest_services.jsp;jsessionid=fNlzNG1TS7PvBJXWLTwzzcXQ9Bz8QHqHkZ857LtGZwh2n9X0zTBD!35415628!882328868?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395181121

I emitted a reading behavior of a Wikipedia article relating to the monopoly game played at McDonalds. I thought this was a great example because they mimmick the game Monopoly to provide incentive to get people to keep coming back to McDonalds. Using the reading we did for class on Tuesday, I found several things relating to the article. When a person gets all of the tokens for one color they get a prize. All of the same rules were used in this token economy as the example given in the readings. Here are the rules used.

Select Tokens: The tokens selected for this McDonalds token economy were the game board pieces from the monopoly game.
Select Reinforcers: There were several reinforcers for this token economy. These can include any cash amount, vacations to selected places, or certain electronics as well.
Set Token Values: There are different token values depending on the color of the token being obtained. If someone obtains 2 blue tokens, they will get a prize because in the game of Monopoly, there are only two navy blue spots on the board. However, there are 3 yellow pieces, for example, that must be obtained to gain the prize.
Set Reinforcer costs: The cost is that the customer must buy a food item from McDonalds’ menu that has the token stickers on the item. This could include anything from a large fries to a large drink or sandwich. The customer must pay for several of these items to get the game pieces they need in order to win a prize.
Construct a bank: On the counter of McDonalds during the time period that this token economy occurs, there is usually a piece of paper with the Monopoly board printed on it. This paper has little slots that the customer can keep the pieces in so that they don’t lose them. This could be considered the bank that is kept.
Explain the Program: On the piece of paper described above, the program is usually explained thoroughly on the back of it. It is also advertised on tv on many commercials so a lot of the population would be able to participate in this token economy.
Award tokens with praise: I think the “praise” in this economy would be the taste of the fast food. A lot of people continuously eat the fast food during this time and end up being hooked on it in the end.
Diminish tokens, but maintain praise: After the tokens diminish, people may still get that craving for fast food because they have been eating it during the token economy because of the determination and convenience when they get a free meal or want more tokens.
Make adjustments : McDonalds may adjust what foods they place the token stickers on so that people will continue to maybe buy the more expensive food, thus increasing McDonalds’ profits.

Overall, I believe this is a very successful token economy because it makes people want to keep coming back which is the goal of this. I know it has worked for me (no I’m not a fast food junkie but it does get addicting!) and people I know as well. One disadvantage of this token economy is that if someone finally gets all the pieces they need, they may win a big prize and not feel the need to come back to McDonalds anymore. Another negative is that people may not ever get a win year after year, so they may quit playing the game then as well. I know I have never won but have been close. It gets frustrating and may make the reinforcement less appealing since you know it will most likely not happen. Therefore, there are pros and cons to this token economy game that may influence the decision to keep playing it, depending on the person. The monopoly game makes it a game instead of just getting normal tokens or tickets to obtain the food. The game becomes addicting and all you want to do is win! That is why I think this token economy is so successful.

This assignment emitted a searching and reading behavior to find a token economy. I instantly had one in mind, which is a positive token economy. It is just getting started and to increase the frequency of it being used, I also post the site on my facebook.

The website I found is called goodsearch. It's basically like google, but it is a token economy search site. Every time you emit a searching behavior using goodsearch, a penny is donated to an organization of your choice or to a school. A penny might not seem like much, but if you are like me and google everything, it can add up in the end. And if everyone increases the frequency of using goodsearch instead of google, organizations/schools can make a lot of money.

The token economy on this website is obviously the penny that is being awarded to whatever organization you want. Even though you are not being directly rewarded with the token, it is good to know that you're donating a penny to a charity in need.

I believe this website is amazing and the creators deserve major props. I know I feel guilty when I walk by the people in front of Wal-Mart ringing the bell and I don't contribute. But I can feel better by using goodsearch instead of google to find whatever I am attempting to search.

http://www.goodsearch.com/

I emited the behavior of finding the starbucks website about their rewards program that is a great example of a token economy system.

This program works so that when you sign up (which is free) you get a card and begin on the "welcome" level. The perk on this level is that you get a free beverage on your birthday. Everytime you pay with your card you get a star. After recieving 5 stars you move to the "green" level, which comes with four other perks plus the one from the "welcome level. After you have recieved 30 stars within 12 months you then move to the next and final level the "gold" level. This comes with 3 new perks plus the ones from the previous levels. To continue on the "gold" level you must continue to recieve 30 stars every year.

I think that this is a good system, because a lot of people drink coffee if they get positively reinforced for buying it they would be more likely to buy it there. The levels is also a good idea because then they are getting rewarded, but still have something to work for so that they don't get bored or tired of the perks.

I think that it is a big jump from only needing 5 stars to get to the second level but then needing 30 to get to the third, especially when the second level seems to be to be the most beneficial. Also not until the gold level do they offer a free drink after every 15 stars. I think that it may be more beneificial and rewarding if they offered that early on and perhaps made it every 10 stars because some of the perks that they offer may not be a very big reinforcement to some people.

http://www.starbucks.com/card/rewards/program-information

I emitted a searching behavior to see which token economy to report on. There are several that we use in everyday life. The one that I use frequently is airline miles. Airline miles are great and discouraging at the same time. American Airlines has been my airline of choice for many years. I have had a AAadvantage card since 1995 and have used my miles several times to purchase upgrades, airline tickets, car rentals and I “purchased” an all-inclusive vacation once. So if you break down the program this is how it goes:
Determine the behavior you want emitted: American Airlines wants you to fly with them. They set up a program where you accumulate miles (tokens) each time you use your card to check in when flying. You can also accumulate miles by having a AA credit card (AA, I would assume, gets a kick back when the card is used—it is backed by Citibank)
The Tokens: the miles you accumulate. They do expire if not used in the time specified (unless you reach a different status level ex. Accumulate a lot of miles on a frequent basis then your time period to cash in your tokens is different) the only thing you need to do is remember to check in with your AA card or use your credit card (you can also get more points for shopping or buying specific products or services sponsored by AA when you use the credit card).
Select reinforcers: airline tickets, rental cars, hotel stays, vacation packages, upgrade your flight (from coach to first class), gift cards---sometimes they promote other things that you can purchase as well that you can purchase with your miles.
Token value and reinforcer costs: the token value is 1 mile per (a lot of different things) you can earn miles through the credit card (1 miles per every dollar spent) or by flying on AA (anywhere from .5 miles to 1.5 miles earned per actual miles flown)
To redeem your miles you can do it online or at the flight counter or where ever you want to use your miles (participating companies) everything cost a little different (the more expensive an item might be with actual money, it will be worth more miles)
The bank: AA sets up an account that you can check at any point in time. The thing to remember is you need to use your miles within a certain time period otherwise they will expire and you will not be able to use them.
Awarding of the tokens: every time you earn miles while flying they send you an e-mail thanking you for flying as well as how many miles you have accumulated on your recent trip and how much some other things would cost if you wish to trade in your miles.
Diminishing of the tokens: The miles do expire from when you received them, most of the time from one year from the time they were issued. AA does send you reminders from time to time explaining when you should use your miles (the expiration date of the miles).
The system in whole is obtainable, reasonable and worthwhile. People who travel frequently find this system advantageous as well as rewarding.
http://www.aa.com/homePage.do
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1698314/reward-programs-common-strategies
http://www.olemiss.k12.in.us/intervention/Token.pdf

The site I found for my research on token economy was the U.S. Cellular store site. U.S. Cellular emitted a plan called The Belief Plan. The Belief Plan works as a token economy in the sense that the customer is reinforced for not only choosing/sticking with the plan, but a variety of other behaviors as well. The customer receives points when they emit one of the desired behaviors. The points can then go towards a variety of different options, including getting a new phone quicker. The site I found not only explains what exactly you can receive points for, but what you can spend your points on and how much.
1.Select Token: The token in this case would be points. You earn a certain amount of points depending on which behavior you emit.
2.Select Reinforcers: The reinforcement in this situation can be a variety of things. It can be getting a new phone sooner, getting a different phone, getting a line free, getting free ringtones, etc.
3.Set Token Values: The site displays the ways in which you can earn points by the behavior you emit. Just emitting the behavior of choosing a cell phone plan under the Belief Project earns you a certain amount of points per month depending on the plan you choose. There are other ways in which to earn points as well. Referring a friend, taking online surveys, being a member for so long, having a birthday etc. Emitting these behaviors can earn you a specific amount of points according to the chart on the website.
4.Set Reinforcer Costs: The site also displays a chart that tells you what you can redeem your points on once you have emitted the behavior of earning points. The chart shows that you can spend your points on pleasant stimulus such as getting a phone a month sooner, ringtones, getting a line free for a month, etc. For example a free ringtone would cost you 500 points, getting a phone upgrade one month sooner would cost 1,000 points.
5.Construct A Bank: You can manage your points that you earn online through your online account or you can go into any U.S. Cellular store and they can bring up your account.
6.Explain the program: The site has done a good job of emitting an explanation for their program so that customers can understand.
7.Award tokens with Praise: I’m not sure if this applies seeing as most employees or the company as a whole will praise people for staying with their company anyways
8.Make needed adjustments: I’m sure the more people figure out ways to emit behaviors that can accumulate points of quickly that the company will decide to change the values of various behaviors or how much certain reinforcers cost.
Terms used: Reinforce, reinforcers, pleasant stimulus, emit, token economy,
http://www.uscellular.com/the-belief-project/rewards/earn-and-redeem-points.html

Token Economy: I emitted a behavior of looking up how the JCPenney Rewards program works. I chose this topic because I used to work at JCPenney for 2 years and the reward program was a great way for frequent customers to save even more money each month. The program positively reinforces customers to continue shopping at JCPenney’s compared to other rival companies. JCPenney has always been a great company that focus’s on ways to better their customer service.Now how the program works:


Select Tokens: 1st step is to sign up with your email and register your JCPenney rewards credit card for free. Also, you can register up to 3 credit/debit cards. The reason I believe JCP decided on the plastic credit cards is because our society is approaching a non-paper society. Many of the customers do not pay in cash anymore.



Select Reinforcers: eliciting 250 points each month in the store credit and then receive $10 reward in the mail or can be printed online through the customers email.



Token Values: JCP selected that the customer receives 1 point for every $1 spent in our store or on JCP.com, with using one of the registered reward cards. There are certain qualifying purchases in one month, that will DOUBLE points for the next month.



Reinforcer Cost- $10 coupon if the rewards were met.

Construct a Bank- The registered credit card automatically keeps track of the points spent.

Arrange Business Hours for Exchange- The JCP store hours and weekend specials are posted in the ads and online. JCP stores also can use multiple coupons of rewards and other coupons during weekends.



Explain Program- Workers at JCP describes the program in each sale and there is e-mails sent, and brochures in the stores with detailed information.



Award tokens with praise- Many regular customers that see these extra coupons from the customers in front of them get jealous and praise the rewards member and get influenced by wanting to save more money. 



Make needed adjustments- our society is in recession so customers may think 250 points is too much because they do not want an extra credit card or spend enough money to receive the $10 each month and leave the reward program.




The positively reinforced reward cards give customers a way to save more money, and receive “SOMETHING” for purchasing materials not only physically in the store, but also in the online store. Also, the rewards program is free, easy, and receive exclusive savings events that other regular customers do not have that opportunity.

https://www.jcprewards.com/nonmember/HowItWorks.aspx
https://www.jcprewards.com/Index.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

The token economy I have emitted a behavior of finding is the Cold Stone Creamery’s punch card. This is an example of a positive reinforcement token economy system.

1) Select Tokens: For each Love It size or larger you purchase at Cold Stone, you will be given a punch on your punch card.
2) Select Reinforcers: After purchasing nine ice creams, you will be positively reinforced with a free ice cream.
3) Set Token Values: To receive a punch on your card (token) a Love It size or larger must be purchased, which is about four dollars.
4) Set Reinforcer Costs: After emitting a purchasing behavior of nine ice creams (approximately $36 total), you will receive your tenth ice cream free.
5) Construct a Bank: All of the ice cream purchases will be kept track of on a Cold Stone punch card.
6) Explain the Program: Each time a purchasing behavior is emitted of a Love It size ice cream or larger, the elicited response is a punch on your Cold Stone punch card. Once this behavior has been emitted nine times, you will be positively reinforced with a free ice cream.
7) Award Tokens with Praise: Each time a purchasing behavior has been emitted, the employee who received payment, and punched your card, will thank you for coming.
8) Diminish Tokens but Maintain Praise: Once the card has been used up, the employee who has helped you will still ‘thank you’ for coming to their store.
9) Make Needed Adjustments: I find that this system is sufficient in positively reinforcing its customers and ensuring that the customer keeps on coming back.

http://twitter.com/csc1397
Jump to post on October 2nd. Most information is first-hand knowledge as well.

After emitting a searching behavior on the internet I found a website that demonstrates token economies in elementary classrooms. For this specific token economy the teacher uses chips as the tokens and the tokens are kept separated in a container with different departments. Each student is assigned a number and a set of tokens and each child's number is written on their set of chips. In the beginning of the school year the teacher describes to the class which behaviors are expected in order to have one of their chips put into a bag. Every time a child emits a desirable behavior (i.e. walking quietly in the hallway, starting to so their assigned work without being told) that is noticed by the teacher, the teacher takes one of their chips out of the bank and puts it into a special bag that contains other children's chips that they earned for emitting a target behavior as well. Earning these chips are the primary reinforcers, but the back-up reinforcers are the activities the child gets to do whenever the teacher pulls a chip out of the bag and it is theirs. The teacher keeps all of the earned chips in a bag and every time she has a special job or activity for a student she randomly pulls out a chip and whatever child's number is on the chip gets to do the job. Some of the back-up reinforcers include: passing out art supplies, taking a message to another teacher's room, participating in a role play, running errands, being a line leader, sitting in a special seat, being a group leader, etc. This system is an example of positive reinforcement. The tokens are added to the classroom bag, and later if the child's token is picked from the bag activities are added to the child's day to increase the frequency of them emitting the target behaviors in the future.

I think this is a good system because the back-up reinforcers being used are fun and exciting for the kids but also teach them leadership and responsibility. While explaining the system in the beginning of the school year the teacher also explained to the class that they may not be rewarded every time. I think this not only adequately explains the process to the children but also teaches them real-world skills from a very young age. People may not always be around to reward their good behaviors, but they should still do them to be a responsible member of society. The teacher also explains how she doesn't just quietly add a child's token to the bag, but makes sure everyone is aware of it. She praises the child whenever he or she emits a target behavior as well as adds one of their tokens to the class bag. I think the praise itself can also be another form of positive reinforcement as well; I think the praise is just as important as the tokens for increasing the frequency of their emitting of target behaviors.

The website I found is actually my bank’s website and a savings initiative they have implemented the past few years. It is called the S.T.A.R.T program its goal is to get people to put more money into savings. The tokens in this token economy are the little bits of money that it automatically saves for people and gains interest on. The first goal is to earn $1000 in savings, then you are rewarded with a big prize, a free $50 debit card, and the second goal is to keep a minimum of $1000 in savings for 12 consecutive months and upon completion you are rewarded with another free $50 debit card.
This is the S.T.A.R.T. an acronym for Save Today and Rewards Tomorrow and it is currently a system that I am enrolled in at my bank. The START system came about because there has often been a lack of people putting money into their savings accounts. US bank is attempting to elicit the behavioral class of putting money into savings accounts rather than spending it right away. In a sense they are trying to save for you without your knowledge, or taking it away and saving it from you before you know you have it. The three specific target behaviors they are aiming for(listed under the ‘How it Works’ tab) ar creating an automatic transfer from your checking to savings for x amount of dollars a month or transfer a certain amount for every credit card purchase you make or a certain amount for every time you use your debit card. The START program is an example of positive reinforcement because they award participants interest in their savings and provide checkpoints along the way to keep them going (at this point I realize this is a relatively poor example of a token economy but I am going to make it work). The tokens in this program in a sense is that monthly interest that you accrue. They are putting your money into savings automatically and that in a sense is rewarding participants along the way because they have that backup money there and it is gaining interest(though it is poor) all the while. Little by little they store up this interest which gives them little bits of money though they are working towards saving $1000 for the ‘big’ prize. The pro and con for these tokens are that they are highly unnoticeable, and that is their point. Because individuals only realize that the money has been transferred when they get their statements they don’t have the constant reminder that they are saving up for the rewards. This can be a good and bad thing. It is good in the sense that they don’t realize that they could be using that money now rather than later because it is taken from their hands before they can object/protest/realize it. It is bad, however, in the sense that they get the tokens, say ‘oh that’s nice’ and then completely forget about it. It doesn’t really make them want to pursue the target behavior any more intensely than originally because it happens automatically for them. The delivery system is automatic and shares many of the same pros and cons as I just listed. The tokens are banked, at the bank…wow, shaking my head in disapproval at the bad, unnecessary, and unintended pun just created. But it’s true. The little bit they are saving for themselves are the tokens and it is kept safely at the bank in the savings account for them to access at a later date. The pros of this are that the tokens are safe and secure and are brought to the participant’s attention once a month with their statements. The con is that the tokens are basically forgotten about throughout the process.The ultimate reinforcer that they cash in for is that once they have saved $1000 they are rewarded with a free $50 card from US bank that acts as a debit card and can be spent anywhere. It’s free money! Money is always an effective reinforce for individuals in America. Once the individual has reached their goal of saving $1000 they are mailed a debit card from US bank with the $50 already on it, all one needs to do is call to have it activated. The reward is repeated once the individual has kept $1000 in savings for 12 consecutive months. In this way the bank is very much in control of when and how the reinforcers are delivered. One easy way to see how effective this program is working would be for the bank to monitor how long on average it takes individuals to meet their goal, or if they ever meet their goal. A second thing to look at would be to make sure that people are meeting their 1st and 2nd goal. Meeting the first may be easy for most but the second may be next to impossible. Just see how often both of these are reached. The bank lays all of this out for individuals in an easy step by step process and offers to answer any questions you may have about rewards, withdrawals, early termination, and other issues. The most common problem with token economies is that you often reward a behavior that was intrinsically enjoyed and have made it into a chore. Well, that’s not exactly a problem when it comes to saving money and earning more of it. If I was already emitting a saving behavior pattern I will not save less simply because I am rewarded in this new program, if anything it will encourage me to save more, and to keep more in savings.
http://usbank.com/start/start.html

After emitting a searching behavior for articles that relate to token economies, I finally thought of a token economy that I am a part of, and that elicited me to go to the website to find out more information. The fast food place called Pita Pit offers reward cards that are used as token economies, and it really has an impact on me. If I get enough points and know I have a free pita, I will choose to go there before any other place.

This website gives you information on the program that is offered, and what exactly the card is used for and how you can benefit from it. This rewards program, or you could say token economy reminds me of the reading we have already emitted about the Poyner Elementary School. The kids received tickets for good behavior, and for pita pit, people receive points for ever pita, or item on the menu they buy. Everyone seems to get what they want; schools want kids on their best behavior, and franchises want people to come and buy their products. Seems like a win-win.

Specifically for this token economy, every time you emit a buying behavior of a pita, drink, or chips, you receive a certain amount of points, and these points go onto a card, which looks like a credit card, yet you are not ever charged. Once you have the card you can go onto their website and look at how many points you received, and how many you need to get until you get a price. For example, every time you buy 1 pita you get 5 points, and once you receive 20 points, the next time you go and emit a buying behavior of a pita you will receive a free one, and depending on how many points are on the card you can also emit a free buying behavior of chips and a drink. Just like the token economy at the Poyner Elementary school, you can see what you need to receive your reward. For the children they kept track of their tickets, maybe in their desks or lockers. This way the children know what else they need. This relates to the pita card. You can look up your balance online and I THINK in the actual restaurant as well. This is good for people who like to know what else they need to receive the free pita, or even chips and a drink. Also, with this token economy you can emit a searching before for your ‘balance’ WHENEVER you want. Also, with this token economy you can receive other rewards then JUST a free pita, such s different coupons; this will hopefully reduce the satiation that may occur.

I really enjoyed a researching behavior and reading behavior over this topic, token economies and the pita pit website. It really blows my mind to see how many token economies are out there that we don’t realize. I know there are other restaurants and clothing stores that also provide token economies as well. I think that this token is a good idea, and worthwhile. No one needs to PAY for one of the pita cards. Just remember that every time you go in you need to take out your card. You may not even realize you have enough points, and may receive a free pita or coupon without even knowing.

http://mypitapitcard.com/
http://mypitapitcard.com/chockstone/card/check

After reading the assignment due tonight, I emitted a memory behavior of Buckle. This is a clothing store commonly found in malls and I have had a punch card from there for a couple years now. Their reward program previously was punch card that was punched once for every ten dollars a customer spends. Now this information goes is recorded on a Buckle credit card. I will emit a describing behavior of this program based on our previous assignment from this week.
1) Select Tokens: The token here is the Buckle reward card. At checkout, the customer must enter a number and the dollar amount. The company emits a recording behavior of this information.
2) Select Reinforcers: The reinforcer here is receiving ten dollars for every $300 a customer spends.
3) Set Token Values: The card has no value as the points are recorded electronically. Without the card, the store can simply emit a search of one’s name to find their information.
4) Set Reinforcer Cost: The cost to be reinforced by Buckle is $300. For every $300, one receives $10 free dollars to use at Buckle. This seems very steep to me and I don’t think it is very reinforcing.
5) Construct A Bank: The bank consists of points that are available for collection for four months. Two months after the points no longer collect on one’s card, the card expires and the points are lost.
6) Explain the Program: See paragraph above.
7) Award Tokens with Praise: When one purchases clothing from Buckle, the store clerk is undoubtedly instructed to emit a praising behavior.
8) Diminish Tokens: The card loses value after a pre-determined amount of time. This urges the customers to redeem their rewards quickly and begin thinking about the next portion of the year’s card and rewards.
9) I think $300 is significantly too much for a rewards program. I feel like they will not gain any new customers with the incentive of $10 for every $300 spent. In my opinion, Buckle should emit an altering behavior for their rewards program. They should lower the target behavior to at least $250, if not lower. I obviously do not know if this is possible from a business standpoint, but the idea of having to spend $300 to receive only $10 to spend at a specific store is not that appealing. There should also be a long amount of time to obtain this target behavior.

http://www.buckle.com/bucklecard/buckle-card-rewards

In this article, a token economy system involving trading points earned for small doses of methadone was used to decrease the illicit polydrug use of 97 methadone maintenance clients. The results showed that 14% of the methadone users' urinalysis came up as positive for illicit drugs, compared to 39% with traditional treatment.

methadone maintenance is a treatment method that treats illicit drug users, usually those addicted to opioids, with methadone. patients are given small doses of methadone. methadone, taken at a daily milligram dosage, elicits the removal of withdrawal symptoms and stabilize patients. as a result, patients will no longer feel the euphoria that comes with methadone, other opiates, or heroine use.

1. tokens: points are rewarded to the clients if they had a urinalysis negative for illicit drugs (usually opioids) for a certain amount of time
2. reinforcements: the reinforcements for emitting the desired target behavior are turning in your points for doses of methadone. Methadone is reinforcing because
3. token value: the amount of points that need to be obtained, i'm assuming, would be different for everyone depending on level of dependency and time without illicit opioid use
4. reinforcement cost: the appropriate number of points
5. Construct a bank: points are recorded and then redeemed by the client to obtain doses of methadone
6. explain the system: If the client emits the desired target behavior of going a certain amount of time without doing methadone (having drug-free urine) they are rewarded with points each time. After a certain number of points are obtained, they may be redeemed for doses of methadone.
7. office hours: obviously the methadone is kept by the medical professionals and distributed and monitored carefully. patients do not have access to methadone unless they emit the desired target behavior and turning in their points in exchange for methadone.
8. changes: while using this token economy system to decrease the polydrug use of illicit substances may be successful in reducing the use of illicit drugs, it seems inevitable that the patients would then become dependent on methadone. but because this article was only the abstract of the full article, i cannot say with positivity that i have all the information.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6613720

The token economy that I chose to write about would be the one where it helps in teaching autistic children. This token economy consists of using a pre-determined reinforcer by the student. When the student gets a question right then they get a good job, a great work, or something along those lines of a sticker leading up to their reinforcer. After the student has gotten six of the answers correct ina row the child is reinforced with what they chose. In the example the child chose to be tickled by a feather if they got six questions right. This is a good system because the reinforcers are rather cheap and the kids have a sense of being in control of their own reinforcer.
This type of token economy is good for a child just starting out with token economies. The reason for this is because the system is easy to understand and the child can choose from a variety of reinforcers. Another way this token economy could work would be for a more advanced group of children where the pictures show the target behavior. The way they would do this is by putting a picture of the target behavior on the picture that goes on the plastic leading up to the reinforcer. So if the target behavior would be raising their hand before speaking, the pictures leading up to the reinforcer would be of a child raising their hand waiting to be called on. The only downside of this type of token economy is that with all the lamination and velcro it can become expensive if you're doing it for a whole class.

This site also has another way of using token economies with teaching autistic children. The other way this site uses token economies is by using a punch card. The way the punch card worked was that the child would get a punch in the beginning when they were sitting still at carpet time for a fixed interval set of time, such as 10 seconds per punch. So after the whole punch card was punched out from sitting still for so long the child would get a piece of candy. As the schoolyear would go on the punch interval would get longer and longer, so one punch between another could take as long as 5 minutes. This could span the punch card out for weeks so that the target behavior would not become extinct from too much reinforcement.
The positives of this token economy are that it is very cheap to print out a piece of paper with the boardmaking software that we have now. It can also be used with stickers which are rather cheap too.

Both systems are good but I think that if you went with the punch card token economy it would work out better. The reason for this is because you can use a punch card for just about any target behavior, it's not very expensive, and it can keeo the child from pushing the behavior desired into extinction altogether.

http://www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/tokeneconomies.html

I emitted the behavior of reading an article online about a token economy. This token economy is used in a school setting. A teacher came up with it to positively reinforce her students. She has tokens that have numbers on them and then she assigns each student in her class with a certain number. Each student has multiple tokens with their number on it. The teacher will reinforce the students throughout the school day for positive behavior by putting one of their tokens into a bag and then when she has a positive reinforcer to reward the children with throughout the day, like being the line leader, she would pull out a token to choose which children is positively reinforced. She gave a list of different task that you may have that you could pull a token out to let a student complete the task:

• pass out art supplies
• take a message to another teacher’s room
• work a problem on the board or overhead
• participate in a role play
• hold a book, poster, chart, or other prop while you teach
• call the other students to line up
• run irregular errands
• choose a read-aloud
• complete small tasks for other teachers
• monitor behavior when you are briefly out of the room
• help the Star of the Week
• bring you something from another part of the room/school
• carry things in the hall
• sit in a special seat
• read from texts to the class
• share journal entries
• serve as group leader for activities

I think that this is a great idea for a token economy because it increases the frequency of the children emitting positive behavior. I also like that the final positive reinforcement is random because she pulls a token out of a bag without looking so this lower the chances of favoritism. This seems like a really great idea for a system to use in a classroom setting because it uses positive reinforcement for good behavior and it teaches them to enjoy responsibility with the different tasks that they can receive as one of their privileges.

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/behavior-management/token-system

After emitting the target behavior of reading this blog assignment I found the express credit card website. The express credit card in itself is not a token economy but it has a point system attached to it. For every 250 points you earn on your express card you will receive a free item of clothing of your choice. Points are earned per dollar spent so this is a serious draw back to their token economy. This is not likely to cause people to shop more frequently but it may cause people who are going out shopping to choose express over some other competitor because eventually they will earn a free item of their choosing. The items that you can choose from are not something small which is extremely nice as a positive reinforcer and helps compensate for the large number of points needed.
After I emitted the target behavior of reading the website and learning about their point system I have noticed many flaws with their token economy. First off t is hard to know how many points you have totaled because it does not openly tell you and you have to search through their website to find out. They also need to change the point system so that you either earn more points quicker without spending as much money or lower the amount of pointes needed to receive a free reinforce. The system is overall well done but it is absolutely ineffective because the reinforce takes forever to earn. It needs to be more regularly reinforcing.

URL: http://www.express.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=CreditCardCategory

I recently got a new credit card and one of the reasons I chose this card was because of the reward system they have. Discover has one of the best credit card reward programs out there. They have a program where you get 5% Cashback Bonus. They have a schedule for each set of months. For the months of Oct-Dec you earn 5% cashback on restaurants and fashion up to $1,500. For Jan-Mar you get the same on gas and entertainment, Apr-Jun is restaurants and movies, Jul-Sep is gas and summer fun, and next Oct-Dec is holiday shopping. In order to receive these reinforcers, you must sign up for them. They are free, however. You can’t sign up for them until they say you can sign up, which is the month before it starts. Besides these optional “tokens”, there is an everyday 1% unlimited cashback bonus. That means no matter what you spend the money on each day, you receive up to 1% cashback. ON TOP of these two wonderful token economies, you also can earn 5% to 20% cashback bonus at over 175 top retailers through their site ShopDiscover. That is their exclusive online shopping mall. Going to this site, there are tons of retailers that offer a certain amount of cashback bonus. It gets even better. Not only do you get even more cashback bonus at ShopDiscover, but you get FREE SHIPPING. Amazon also has a separate deal with Discover. If you shop at Amazon, you get DOUBLE the cashback bonus!! You can see how this program is extensive and very reinforcing. It reaches out to many people. All of these are simply how you attain the tokens. This is a continuous reinforcement schedule. Each and EVERY time you use your Discover card, you get some type of reward and the more you buy, the more you will get. This elicits people to increase their spending with their Discover card. It also elicits more people to apply for Discover cards, such as myself. I definitely don’t mind being ruled by this token economy. Sometimes the problem with reinforcers is that they are not interesting to the person. Since Discover reaches out to so many people, their token economy had to be able to interest every one of those people. Having as many options as they do definitely helps bridge the gap, so hopefully people won’t get satiated with a certain reinforcer. They can simply switch to something else and receive a different reinforcer. Since the reinforcers are also in a step-type fashion, people have the option of emitting spending behaviors for the places that give higher reinforcers, such as Amazon or ShopDiscover. It will elicit people to emit spending behaviors at those places when they need things instead of going elsewhere. One example is that I want a new laptop, so I could go buy one somewhere else or I could emit the behavior of searching through the over 175 retailers on ShopDiscover. Unfortunately for me, the one that I want is not available through that, but I could still receive cashback bonuses if I use my Discover card to pay for the laptop no matter where I buy it. My other credit cards do not have any type of program like this, so I will probably end up using this one more than the others. This goes to show that their token program is effective. There’s a whole lot more to this too. Besides the attainment side of Discover’s token economy is their redemption side.

They have several options to redeem the tokens. These are known as the backup reinforcers, such as the prizes in the Poyner program. First you can have your cashback bonus deposited into the bank account of your choice. You may also use the cashback bonus to credit your discover card account. You can pay with cashback bonus directly at Amazon (which is awesome). You can increase or even double your cashback bonus reward with gift cards from over 100 brand-name partners. Of course you can use the cashback bonus to perchance popular merchandise. You get free shipping and pay no sales tax. There is a Discover gift card option, or you can donate cashback bonus to a charity and Discover will make an extra annual contribution to the charity that receives the most donation. That is A LOT of options for backup reinforcers. The pro to having this many options is similar to the pro of having a lot of attainment options. Having this many options will elicit people to choose what fits them best. This reduces the likelihood that satiation of any backup reinforcer will occur, as discussed previously. To me it sounds like Discover really has this token economy stuff figured out. They also make it very salient what your cashback bonus is. It is posted all over the website. They emit reinforcing behaviors very effectively. They are extremely popular and this exhibits how effective they are. It worked on me. As for when you can exchange your “tokens” for backup reinforcers, you can emit exchanges whenever you feel like it. That means you can emit saving your bonus until you have enough for a large “token” item or if you want smaller things. This also helps make it effective I believe because it will create an even high reinforcing value for the “tokens”. It will, most likely, increase the frequency that people will emit buying things with their Discover card. The only problem I have with their token economy is that 1% or 5% of regular purchases is not very much and it would take a LONG time to earn anything that would be enough. This may reduce the likelihood that someone is going to emit buying things with their card. They may get tired of trying to earn enough money to buy something and give up. This coincides with a problem we discussed. The reinforcer has to be frequent and strong enough to keep the person interested. The regular should be at least 5% for everyday items. This would help elicit people to use the card more often because it would build faster.

https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cashback-bonus/redeem-cashback.html?ICMPGN=STL_CBB_REDEMP
https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cashback-bonus/cashback-calendar.html
https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cashback-bonus/shopdiscover.html