Applications of operant techniques in treatment and education have proliferated in recent years. Among the various techniques, the token economy has been particu­ larly popular. The token economy has been extended to many populations included in psychiatry, clinical psychology, education, and the mental health fields in general. Of course, merely because a technique is applied widely does not neces­ sarily argue for its efficacy. Yet, the token economy has been extensively re­ searched. The main purpose of this book is to review, elaborate, and evaluate critically research bearing on the token economy. The book examines several features of the token economy including the variables that contribute to its efficacy, the accomplishments, limitations, and potential weaknesses, and recent advances. Because the token economy literature is vast, the book encompasses programs in diverse treatment, rehabilitation, and educational settings across a wide range of populations and behaviors. Within the last few years, a small number of books on token economies have appeared. Each of these books describes a particular token economy in one treatment ,etting, details practical problems encountered, and provides suggestions for ad­ ministering the program. This focus is important but neglects the extensive scholarly research on token economies. The present book reviews research across diverse settings and clients. Actually, this focus is quite relevant for implementing token economies because the research reveals those aspects and treatment variations that contribute to or enhance client performance.

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1 Principles of Operant Conditioning.- Reinforcement.- Positive Reinforcement.- Negative Reinforcement.- Punishment.- Extinction.- Maximizing the Effect of Positive Reinforcement.- Delay of Reinforcement.- Magnitude or Amount of Reinforcement.- Quality or Type of the Reinforcer.- Schedules of Reinforcement.- Shaping.- Chaining.- Prompting and Fading.- Discrimination and Stimulus Control.- Generalization.- Conclusion.- 2 Introduction and Historical Overview.- Investigation of the Influence of Response Consequences.- Extensions of Operant Methods to Human Behavior: An Overview.- Conceptual and Experimental Extensions.- Clinical Applications.- Token Economies Antedating Contemporary Behavior Modification.- Joseph Lancaster and the "Monitorial System".- The Excelsior School System.- Alexander Maconochie and the "Mark System".- Contemporary Foundations of Token Economies.- Reinforcement Programs in Applied Settings.- Food and Other Consumable Items.- Social Reinforcers.- Activities, Privileges, and Other High Probability Behaviors.- Informative Feedback.- Token Reinforcement.- Conclusion.- 3 The Token Economy: Program Options and Variations.- The Basic Token Program and Its Requirements.- The Token.- Back-up Reinforcers.- Specification of the Contingencies.- Examples of Token Economies in Three Settings.- Psychiatric Ward.- Home-Style Facility for Pre-Delinquents.- Elementary School Classroom.- Program Variations, Options, and Their Effects.- Types of Contingencies.- Administration of Consequences.- Range and Extent of Back-up Reinforcers.- Token Withdrawal or Response Cost.- Response Cost Programs.- Token Economies Including Response Cost.- Use of Response Cost.- Leveled Programs.- Peer Administration of the Contingencies.- Self-Administration of Consequences.- Conclusion.- 4 Review of Token Economies I.- Psychiatric Patients.- General Ward-Wide Programs.- Complex and Therapeutically Relevant Behaviors and "Symptoms".- Social Behaviors.- Other Behaviors.- The Mentally Retarded.- Ward and Self-Care Behaviors.- Verbal Behavior and Language Acquisition.- Social Behaviors.- Work-Related Behaviors.- Other Behaviors.- Individuals in Classroom Settings.- Disruptive Behavior and Inattentiveness.- Academic Behaviors.- Other Behaviors.- Conclusion.- 5 Review of Token Economies II.- Pre-Delinquents and Delinquents.- Antisocial Behavior.- Classroom and Academic Behaviors.- Social Skills.- Adult Offenders.- Drug Addicts and Problem Drinkers ("Alcoholics").- Applications with Drug Addicts.- Applications with Alcoholics.- Outpatient Applications.- Outpatient Therapy.- Interventions in the Natural Environment with Children and Adolescents.- Interventions in the Natural Environment with Adults.- Other Populations and Applications.- Geriatric Residents.- Stutterers.- Aphasics.- Social Extensions.- Conclusion.- 6 Major Issues and Obstacles in Ensuring Effective Programs.- Training Staff and Other Behavior-Change Agents.- Staff Training Techniques.- Instructional Methods.- Feedback.- Self-Monitoring.- Modeling and Role-Playing.- Social Reinforcement.- Token Reinforcement.- Combined Techniques.- Training Techniques: General Comments.- The Effects of Token Economies on Staff Behavior.- Unresponsive Clients.- Explanations of Unresponsiveness.- Techniques to Enhance Responsiveness.- Response Priming.- Reinforcer Sampling.- Selecting Increasingly Potent Reinforcers.- Modeling Influences.- Individualized Contingencies.- Group Administration of Consequences.- Unresponsiveness: Summary.- Economic Variables in Token Economies.- Income and Savings.- Expenditures and Back-up Events.- Economic Variables: General Comments.- Conclusion.- 7 Generalization of Behavior Change.- Maintenance of Behavior after Withdrawal of Tokens.- Transfer of Training across Situations.- Techniques to Program Maintenance and Transfer.- Selecting Behaviors That Are Likely to Be Maintained.- Substituting One Program for Another.- Fading the Contingencies.- Expanding Stimulus Control.- Scheduling Intermittent Reinforcement.- Delaying Reinforcer Delivery.- Self-Reinforcement.- Self-Instruction Training.- Programming Maintenance and Transfer: General Comments.- Conclusion.- 8 Critical Evaluation of the Token Economy.- Focus of Token Programs.- Target Behaviors.- Settings.- Populations.- Focus of Token Programs: Summary.- Analysis of the Token Economy and Its Effects.- Variables Contributing to the Token Economy.- Instructions.- Social Reinforcement and Interpersonal Interaction.- Feedback.- Modeling Influences.- Subject and Demographic Variables.- Variables Contributing to the Token Economy: Summary.- Possible Deleterious Effects of Extrinsic Reinforcement.- Comparison of the Token Economy with Other Treatment Techniques.- The Token Economy versus Standard or Routine Treatment.- The Token Economy versus Other Specific Treatments.- The Token Economy versus Pharmacotherapy.- Evaluation of the Effects of Treatment.- Important Considerations in Validating the Effects of Treatment.- Conclusion.- 9 Extensions of Reinforcement Techniques to Society.- Pollution Control and Energy Conservation.- Littering.- Recycling Wastes.- Energy Conservation.- Mass Transportation.- Excessive Noise.- Job Performance and Unemployment.- On-the-Job Performance.- Obtaining Employment.- Community Self-Government.- Racial Integration.- Military Training.- Broader Social Extensions: The Design of Communities and Society.- Walden Two.- Twin Oaks Community.- Experimental Living Project.- Evaluation of Social Extensions of Reinforcement Techniques.- Conclusion.- 10 Ethical and Legal Issues.- Ethical Issues.- Behavior Control.- Control for What Purposes and by Whom?.- Individual Freedom.- Legal Issues.- Contingent Consequences and Environmental Restraint.- Selection of Target Behaviors.- Right to Treatment.- Refusal of Treatment.- Informed Consent.- Protection of Client Rights.- Conclusion.- 11 Summing Up.- The Accomplishments of the Token Economy.- Outstanding Issues.- When and How to Use the Token Economy.- The Ethical and Legal Challenge.- References.- Author Index.