Using a token economy in a community-based residential program for disabled adults: An empirical evaluation leads to program modification
✍ Scribed by J. Timothy Stocks; Bruce A. Thyer; Mariann Kearsley
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1987
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 575 KB
- Volume
- 2
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-0847
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The effects of an existing token reinforcement program upon the acquisition and maintenance of independent living skills of 12 disabled adults in two halfway houses were investigated. Tokens (points) were used to purchase advancement up a stepilevel system, pay daily "rent," and purchase curfew extensions. Tokens were effective in maintaining independent living skill behaviors. However, hearing clients showed a decrease in independent living skill behaviors over the course of the program, while hearing impaired clients showed no change. This paradoxical finding appeared to be the result of inadvertant program contingencies that allowed a decrease in desired behaviors as subjects advanced to higher steps. The authors discuss how the program would be modified to increase behaviors associated with independent living skills.
Token economies in community-based group homes have been