dealing with offending behaviour: token economy Flashcards
what is the main principle behind token economy
behaviourists believe all behaviour is learnt, therefore it must be possible to unlearn behaviour. this is done by reinforcing obedient behaviour with rewards and punishing disobedience.
what are some desirable behaviours that may want to be reinforced within prison
keeping cell tidy
maintaining hygeine
being polite to staff and others
what are the secondary reinforcers within token economy, why are they secondary reinforcers
tokens are secondary reinforcers
because they themselves have no value, it is what they are associated with and can be exchanged for that is desirable
what are the primary reinforcers within a token economy
the thing that tokens are exchanged for, they are directly rewarding.
for example, a phone call to a loved one, more time in the gym or extra food.
what are the key features to designing a target behaviour in a token economy
target behaviours should be clearly operationalised - achieved by breaking behaviour down into component parts
eg. - desirable behaviour is improved social interaction with others
this may be broken down into no swearing.
these units of behaviour must be objective, measurable and agreed upon with prison staff and inmates in advance.
what are the key features to designing a scoring system in a token economy
behaviour should be hierarchical in that some are regarded as more demanding than others therefore recieve greater rewards.
the reccomendation is that reinforcements should outnumber punishments by a ratio of 4:1
how can token economies be assesed to ensure they are effective
efficiency is monitored by observing
the prisoners behaviour and recording the number of desirable behaviours done. The token economy can then be adjusted and a reinforcment schedule made.
what is an important element of token economies to ensure they are efficient
staff should be properly trained in a standardised way to implement the system correctly. this ensures prison staff are rewarding the same behaviours in the same way.
staff may also record. when they have rewarded tokens, so the progress of individual prisoners can be assessed
outline a study by Hobbs and Holt that supports the efficacy of token economies
introduced a token economy system to a group of young offenders. Staff and offenders agreed a number of target behaviours. Each day a superviser counted the number of token each person earned. They were able to go to a token economy store to exchange their tokens
what did Hobbs and Holt find about their token economy system
observed a significant increase in frequency of positive behaviour compared to the non token group. suggesting token economies are effective in managing behaviour inside prisons
why are token economies appealing (AO3)
they are easy to implement and set up in custody. There is no need for a specialist progessional to be involved as there would for other methods (eg. restorative justice or CBT) + they are cost effective
This means behaviour modification techniques can be established in most prisons and accessed by most prisoners in a cost effective way.
What is a limitation of token economies (AO3)
they can produce an increase in compliant behaviour however it’s long term effectivness is less certain.
Cohen found that pps that took part were less likely to reoffend after 2 years but after 3 years after release recidivism rates began to increase and went back to reflecting national statistics. - BM may only delay recidivism. Therefore BM is not effective beyond a prison setting as its unlikely family and friends will continue the token. economy system. As a result there will no longer be rewards for desirable behaviour and so this. behaviour is no longer reinforced.
