How to properly run a token economy program

Token Economy is a program based on the operant conditioning that requires strict control and entails certain difficulties in its implementation, but is highly effective if properly applied. It allows to establish behaviors, alter their frequency of appearance or eliminate them.

As basic elements of these programs we have:

• Records: It is a generalized reinforcer of a material type. It is convenient that they are light, attractive and easily manageable, so that the person can be in contact with them until they are changed by the support reinforcers. The fundamental thing is that they can be exchanged for the support reinforcers and that they can only be delivered and controlled by the people involved in the application of the program.

• Support boosters: It refers to the reinforcers that can be exchanged for the tokens, it being convenient that they be varied. The difficulty of choosing effective reinforcers is diluted, since the person can choose it.

• Behaviors: It is important to specify them precisely, pointing out those that are desirable and those that are not..

• Rules: They have to specify which behaviors earn tokens and how many tokens a behavior gains, which behaviors lose tokens and how many each one loses (this part is optional, it can be applied without loss of tokens), for which reinforcers the tokens can be changed and how many tokens it costs each enhancer.

The implementation of the program consists of three phases:

1. Phase of sampling or establishment of the cards as a generalized reinforcer: It usually begins by giving the subject the token "free" and regardless of their behavior and then it is changed to the chosen reinforcer, in this way, the value of the token is appreciated and the free delivery is withdrawn..

2. Program establishment phase: Tokens are delivered contingently to the behavior that you want to establish, increase or maintain. It is necessary to establish precisely the target behaviors, the final reinforcers, and the number of tokens necessary to obtain them..

At the beginning, abundant delivery of the token is recommended and continuously, the place of delivery must be where the behavior occurs; then, a single place will be designated, the time of delivery will be the closest to the issuance of the conduct and it is gradually postponed.

Reinforcers that can be obtained outside the system should be avoided, in addition, it is advisable to change these and their availability, so that the demand remains high.

The control of maladaptive behaviors may also be of interest, for which the following are used: a) response cost (of the tokens won), b) time out of the token win and c) time out of token exchange. But, you have to avoid debts and reinforcers on account.

It should not be a single person who delivers the cards so that the person does not know with whom to act in a certain way.

3. Fade phase: It happens to contingencies of the ordinary environment, that is, to put the behaviors under the control of the normal conditions of the subject. It is about withdrawing the program since intrinsic motivation is sought. Tokens are being withdrawn while they are being replaced by reinforcers available in the middle where this behavior must be maintained..

It is important that during the program the delivery of tokens is accompanied by verbal recognition so that it becomes a generalized reinforcer. A strict token economy can be established first, then rewarding some behaviors with tokens and others not, as well as delivering reinforcers without behavior, and moving on to the third level in which no token is obtained for the behavior and most reinforcers can be get without token.

It is, in short, a complex but useful program, especially used in the field of child psychology, but also in environments such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals.