A token reinforcement system for large wards of institutionalized adolescents

Problems associated with the application of token systems to large public institutions for male and female adolescents are discussed. The present experiments demonstrate that two specific behavior problems on an adolescent ward of a state hospital could be controlled through the use of contingent points via a rapid-delivery token procedure and backed up by reinforcers already available in the hospital setting. Sixty male and female patients were maintained by a staff of five aides. Experiment I examined the effects of verbal demands and contingent points on room maintenance behavior. Experiment II examined the effects of verbal demands and contingent points on ward maintenance behavior. Contingent points produced substantial effects on both types of behavior. Several design criteria are elaborated which facilitate working within the limitations of a setting with low priorities on research.     

Application of operant procedures in a group of institutionalized aggressive geriatric patients

This study used positive reinforcement schedules versus no reinforcement on a group of 6 highly aggressive, institutionalized elderly patients. Dependent measures included confirmed incidents of physical and verbal aggressive behavior monitored across an ABAB design with a 4-month phase-out period. Results indicated that aggressive behavior can be significantly decreased in a group setting and subsequently generalized to ward behavior. Ancillary aspects of the study included the role of tangible and back-up reinforcers and staff attitude and behavior. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Discriminative properties of shock-correlated reinforcement in an operant context

A two-choice discrete operant procedure was devised for the study of shock-correlated reinforcement effects in rats. In the presence of one auditory stimulus, responding on one response lever was reinforced with food; with another auditory stimulus, responding on a second lever was reinforced. It was found that discrimination performance of one group, relative to appropriate control groups, was facilitated when electric shock was correlated with reinforcement on one lever and not on the other. Further, relative discrimination levels were found to be higher on the lever correlated with the shock than on the alternate lever. The significance of the results for operant within-S studies and for a mediational theory of shock-correlated reinforcement was discussed.     

Systematic reinforcement: academic performance of underachieving students

The effect of contingent tangible and social reinforcement on academic performance was investigated in an experimental classroom of 25 selected underachieving students. Measures were taken of both teacher and child behavior during a baseline and two experimental treatment periods. During Treatment I, a point system with tangible backup reinforcers was combined with contingent social reinforcers dispensed by the teaching staff to assess the effects on three measures of academic performance (i.e., per cent of time at work, work output per minute, and accuracy). During Treatment II, the contingencies for the tangible reinforcers were terminated while social reinforcement was continued to see if the positive effects of Treatment I on academic performance would persist. The results show that with combined tangible and social reinforcers, students' work time, rate of output per hour, and accuracy in all activities substantially increased. After termination of the tangible reinforcers, the students maintained their high rates of output per hour and accuracy for the remaining period of the study while the total amount of time at work returned to the baseline level.     

The effects of token reinforcement,feedback and response cost on standardized test performance

The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the differential effects of token reinforcement, feedback, and response cost on the test performance of delinquent boys. Eighty students were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group of 20 subjects each. Each experimental group received a standard and a modified administration of the verbal section of the WISC. For the token reinforcement group, the modified WISC administration permitted students to earn tokens contingent on correct responses; the response cost group forfeited tokens contingent on incorrect responses; and the feedback group simply received information regarding the accuracy of each response. The control group received two standard WISC administrations. The primary measure was the difference in verbal I.Q. scores between the standard and modified WISC administrations. Results indicated that the token reinforcement and response cost groups achieved significantly higher scores than the feedback and control groups. No significant differences were found between the token reinforcement and response cost groups nor between the feedback and control groups. The implications of these findings for clarifying the relationship between motivational condition and test performance are discussed.     

Second-order schedules of token reinforcement: comparisons of performance under fixed-ratio and variable-ratio exchange schedules

Rats' lever pressing produced tokens according to a 20-response fixed-ratio schedule. Sequences of token schedules were reinforced under a second-order schedule by presentation of periods when tokens could be exchanged for food pellets. When the exchange period schedule was a six-response fixed ratio, patterns of completing the component token schedules were bivalued, with relatively long and frequent pauses marking the initiation of each new sequence. Altering the exchange period schedule to a six-response variable ratio resulted in sharp reductions in the frequency and duration of these initial pauses, and increases in overall rates of lever pressing. These results are comparable to those ordinarily obtained under simple fixed-ratio and variable-ratio schedules.     

Discrimination learning of delinquent boys as a function of reinforcement contingency and delinquent subtype

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of contingency management as a means of behavioral resocialization with delinquent boys on an individual basis. The present study was designed to examine and clarify systematically the reinforcement parameters that underlie the male delinquent's response to verbal and token reward and/or punishment. The principal findings of the study were: (1) Neurotic subjects performed at the highest level for punishment, at the lowest level for reward, and at an intermediate level for a combination of reward and punishment, regardless of verbal or token contingency modality. (2) Psychopathic subjects performed best for the joint verbal reward and punishment contingency, but they did not learn over trials for the joint token reward and punishment contingency. Their performance was undifferentiated at asymptote under the separate verbal and token reward or punishment contingencies. (3) Neurotic subjects performed at a significantly higher level than did psychopathic subjects for verbal and token punishment, while psychopathic subjects performed at a significantly higher level than neutric subjects for verbal and token reward.The authors wish to thank the staff and students of the Lookout Mountain School for Boys and the Golden Gate Youth Camp at Golden, Colorado, for their cooperation in this study. Special thanks are due to Mr. Loren Adlfinger, director, and Mr. George Taylor of the Lookout Mountain School for Boys, and to Mr. John P. McIlwee of the Golden Gate Youth Camp. The study was submitted in 1974 by the first author to the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in clinical psychology.     

Using token reinforcement to increase walking for adults with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of token reinforcement, using an ABAB reversal design, for increasing distance walked for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities at an adult day‐training center. Five participants earned tokens for walking 50‐m laps and exchanged tokens for back‐up reinforcers that had been identified through preference assessments. Token reinforcement resulted in a substantial increase from baseline in laps walked for 4 participants.     

Decreasing student behavior problems and fostering academic engagement through function‐based support and fading of token reinforcement

This study examined the effects of function‐based behavior support plans (BSPs) on the persistent behavior problems and lack of academic engagement of three, 7‐ to 8‐year‐old, male students from two public schools in Iceland. Based on the results of functional behavioral assessments, BSPs were created for each participant. Each plan included a token system. The goal for all students was to foster independent functioning. A multiple baseline across participants showed that disruptive behavior decreased by 85% on average and academic engagement increased by 78% on average. Statistical analyses suggest significant positive effects were obtained. Findings suggest that persistent behavior problems can be reduced and independent academic engagement fostered in inclusive school settings through function‐based BSPs with gradual fading of token reinforcement.