dealing with offending behaviour:behavioural modification Flashcards
(6 cards)
behaviourist principles
According to the behaviourist approach all human behaviour is learned. In which case it should be possible to encourage the unlearning of behaviour. Behaviour modification programmes are designed with the aim of reinforcing obedient behaviour in offenders, whilst punishing disobedience, in the hope that the former continues and the latter dies out (becomes extinct).
token economy
Behaviour modification programmes, such as token economies, are based on operant conditioning. Within the walls of a prison, desirable behaviour may include avoiding confrontation, following prison rules, keeping one’s cell orderly, and so on. In a token economy, prisoners are given a token each time they perform a desirable behaviour.
Each of these behaviours and rewards would be made clear to the prisoners before the programme is implemented. It would also be emphasised that non-compliance, or disobedience, may result in the tokens (and the associated privileges) being withheld or removed (a form of punishment).
Tokens are not rewarding in themselves but derive their value from their association with a reward and thus are called secondary reinforcers. In a prison the tokens might be exchanged for a phone call to a loved one, time in the gym or exercise yard, extra cigarettes or food (all of which are primary reinforcers i.e. they are directly rewarding).
designing and using a token economy
Operationalise target behaviours In a token economy, a target behaviour is operationalised by breaking it down into component parts. For instance, the target behaviour may be improved interaction with other prison inmates. This may be broken down into not touching another prisoner as you pass them, speaking politely to others, etc.
These units’ of behaviour should be objective and measurable and agreed with prison staff and inmates in advance.
Scoring system -Staff and prisoners should also be made aware of the scoring system and how much each particular behaviour is worth Behaviours are hierarchical in the sense that some are regarded as more demanding than others so receive greater rewards.
In the context of the example above (improving interactions with other inmates), we might award more tokens to working co-operatively on a group task’ than ‘not swearing.
Some token economy systems may award tokens directly whereas others may award points which are then converted to tokens. In either case, the recommendation is that reinforcements should outnumber punishments by a ratio of 4:1 (Gendreau et al. 2011).
Train staff -It is important that prison staff are given full training in order to implement the token economy system successfully. Training may involve several hours for a number of weeks. The aim is to standardise the procedures so that all prison staff are rewarding the same behaviours in the same way. Staff must also record when they have awarded tokens so the progress of individual prisoners can be assessed.
S-research support
One strength of behaviour modification is that it has evidence to support it.
Tom Hobbs and Michael Holt (1976) introduced a token economy programme with groups of young offenders across three behavioural units (and a fourth unit acted as a ‘control’). They observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to the non-token economy group. Further, Clinton Field et al. (2004) found a token economy programme used with young people with behavioural problems was generally effective, although there were still a number of young people who did not respond. Later these youths were placed on a special programme where the rewards were more immediate and more frequent and the results were more positive.
This suggests that token economy systems do work.
Counterpoint However, the success of such systems does depend on a consistent approach from prison staff. John Bassett and Edward Blanchard (1977) found any benefits were lost if staff applied the techniques inconsistently. According to the researchers, this was due to factors such as lack of appropriate staff training or high staff turnover (the latter, particularly, is a feature of many UK prisons).
This suggests that behaviour modification schemes must ensure full and
consistent staff participation if they are to work.
S-easy to implement
Another strength of behaviour modification is that it is relatively straightforward to set up in custody.
The appeal of behaviour modification (e.g. token economies) rests largely upon the ease with which it can be administered. There is no need for a specialist professional to be involved as there would be for other forms of treatment such as anger management (see next spread). Rather, token economy systems can be designed and implemented by virtually anyone in any institution. They are also cost-effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established.
This suggests that behaviour modification techniques can be established in most prisons and accessed by most prisoners.
L-little rehabilitative value
One limitation of behaviour modification is that it may not affect long-term behaviour.
In the words of Ronald Blackburn (1993), behaviour modification has little rehabilitative value and any positive changes in behaviour that may occur whilst an offender is in prison may quickly be lost when they are released. More cognitive-based treatments, such as anger management, may be more likely to lead to permanent behavioural change. Such treatments require the offender to understand the cause of their offending and to take responsibility for their own rehabilitation. In contrast, offenders can fairly easily play along with a token economy system in order to access the rewards, but this produces little change in their overall character.
This may explain why, once the token economy is discontinued, an offender may quickly regress back to their former behaviour.
