Token Economies

Token economies are flexible behavioral intervention systems in which conditioned reinforcers, tokens, are delivered contingent upon appropriate target responses and later exchanged for backup reinforcers. Token economies are among the most widely used procedures in behavior analysis, and research on token economies has spanned over 80 years. In this chapter, we describe the critical components involved in arranging a token economy supplemented by findings that inform best practice for each component. An additional consideration is given to the benefits of token economies relative to other reinforcement systems, the mechanisms underlying token reinforcement effects, and the range of contexts in which token economies have been used successfully. Finally, we discuss means to transfer beneficial behavior change from token economies to natural contingencies and certain practical/ethical considerations, including embedding punitive contingencies in a token economy and potential practical limitations involved in their use.