In my short experience working with children with behavioral problems, I have heard too often parents, teachers and even psychologists say that they do not “believe” in token economy charts (some also call them behavior charts), that that It only works for two weeks and then it goes back to the same thing. However, a good body of data from various research tells us that this technique can be a powerful parenting tool.
So why do we have on the one hand desperate parents and teachers saying that this technique does not work and on the other hand research saying that it does work?
According to , an expert in behavior modification and former president of the (American Psychological Association), the token economy does not work for most parents and teachers because they do not manage it properly. In his book (The Kazdin Method for Raising the Defiant Child), he highlights 5 typical mistakes when designing and implementing the token economy.
Mistake 1: Parents focus on eliminating negative behaviors instead of focusing on increasing positive behaviors
Take for example an 8 year old child who exhibits tantrums. A token economy chart designed so that the child gets points for not having tantrums, for the entire day or even for part of the day, is less likely to be effective compared to one where the child gets points for engaging in positive behaviors, which are incompatible with tantrums.
In our example, the tantrum is more likely to occur when the child has to go to school. So, it would be advisable to design a token economy chart so that the child gets points for dressing for school on his or her own and on time. This will allow us to focus on the presence of the desired behavior instead of focusing on the absence of the negative behavior.
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Kazdin explains that there are two possible benefits that arise from a token economy framework focused on the desired behavior:
- When you focus on stopping an undesirable behavior, you don’t know what behavior might occur in its place. It may be a desired behavior like brushing your teeth, but other undesirable behavior may also develop, such as fighting with a sibling.
- It is easier for a child to be successful if he or she focuses on something he or she can do, rather than trying to get the child to control himself from doing something (for example, not throwing a tantrum). Can you list the errors in this token economy chart? Share them in the comments below
Mistake 2: The initial goal is too big
If the initial goal is, for example, not to have any tantrums, the child will almost certainly fail. First, because most children occasionally have a tantrum, the goal of not having tantrums is virtually impossible to achieve. When parents plan goals for the child’s behavior that do not accurately reflect what the child is capable of at his or her developmental age, everyone involved will become frustrated and the behavior chart will be abandoned.
Second, choosing modest goals will help increase the likelihood of achieving them, since achieving small goals creates moments of success that allow for larger goals.
In the example above, parents’ knowledge of what common tantrum triggers are allows them to select a specific trigger to focus on and work on it in the token economy box.
Mistake 3: Maintaining the chart is too complicated a task for parents
Parents of defiant children often feel exhausted. And they can feel overwhelmed just by the thought of adding another task to their complicated schedule. Therefore, it is crucial that the token economy be built in a way that allows parents to feel like they can support it. Many behavior charts fail because parents lose the motivation to maintain them. It is easy to lose motivation with the token economy, since behavioral changes do not happen overnight. Therefore, it is important to explain to parents that this takes time and that behavioral changes do not occur in a linear manner. That is, one day the child may behave perfectly and the next day problematic behavior may occur (yes, that has happened to me!). That’s why it’s important to keep the token economy chart simple.
In the example, the parents only needed the behavior chart when the child had to get dressed for school, so on the weekends they did not have to use it. Dr. Kazdin says the behavior chart can be effective even if it is only used one or two days a week consistently rather than inconsistently every day.
Mistake 4: Prizes are too difficult or too easy to obtain
Reward selection is an important part of building a token economy program. The prizes should be small, but desirable for the child. They should require the child to work hard to earn them, especially at the beginning, but low enough so that on a successful day the child can earn the points needed to earn the reward. Thus, as the program develops, more desirable rewards should be added that require points to be accumulated in order to be exchanged.
Rewards that require more than a few days of savings to be exchanged should not be used, as they weaken the link between the desired behavior and the reward. Additionally, Dr. Kazdin recommends having a “Grand Prize” within the program, where all points Earned (even those that were spent on the smallest rewards) are taken into account and added up to achieve it.
The grand prize must be desired and winnable in a minimum of two weeks (with a perfect score on the box), but it will likely take a little longer, because as we said above, behavior change is not linear.
Mistake 5: The child is not given opportunities to be rewarded for practicing.
Most parents do not include opportunities for practice in their behavior charts. Dr. Kazdin stresses the importance of rewarding practice as it is a key ingredient in a successful behavior chart program. Related to the previous example, the practice could consist of the child putting on their pajamas with the help of their parents and then changing back into their day clothes. If this practice is completed successfully, the child will be able to earn two points for a successful practice (per day) and two points for doing the behavior, in this case getting ready for school.
I really like Kazdin’s book because it is written in a very simple and understandable way, and because each intervention and technique is not based on his personal opinion or belief but rather on the years of research dedicated to behavioral intervention. And it can be a valuable resource, especially if you have children, or work with children or adolescents.
You can get it here:
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