PSYCH 282 Chapter 23 - Token Economy and Chapter 24: Fear and Anxiety Reduction Procedures

Token Economy

a reinforcement system in which conditioned reinforcers called tokens are delivered to people for desirable behaviours. Tokens are later exchanged for backup reinforcers.

Token

 something delivered to a person immediately after a desirable behaviour, accumulated by the person, and later exchanged for backup reinforcers

Becomes a conditioned reinforcer that strengthens the desirable behaviour it follows

Essential components of a token economy

• The desirable target behaviours to be strengthened

• The tokens to be used as conditioned reinforcers

• The backup reinforcers to be exchanged for the tokens

• A reinforcement schedule for token delivery

• The rate at which tokens are exchanged for the backup reinforcers

• A time and place for exchanging tokens for backup reinforcers

• In some cases, a response cost component is added, in which the undesirable target behaviours to be eliminated are identified, together with the rate of token loss for each instance of these behaviours

TTBST

Defining Target Behaviours

Step 1 - Define each target behaviour carefully

Identifying the items to use as tokens

Step 2: Token must be something tangible that the change agent can deliver immediately

Practical, convenient, inexpensive, not from any other source

Identifying Backup Reinforcers

Step 3: Tokens are only as effective as their backup reinforcers.

Decide on appropriate schedule of reinforcement

Step 4: In general, more important or more difficult behaviours receive more tokens than easier/less important ones.

Establishing the Token Exchange Rate

Step 5: Smaller items for fewer tokens. Must set the maximum number of tokens that the client can earn in a day and set the exchange rate accordingly

Establishing the Time & Place for Exchanging Tokens

Token stores, specific times, etc.

Deciding whether to use Response Cost

If there are competing behaviours, then a response cost is necessary. Should be introduced after a while if you plan to implement it. Only lose some, but not all tokens.

Staff Training and Management

Staff must be able to discern TB, deliver tokens immediately, identify problem behaviours, implement response cost immediately, prevent counterfeiting or theft, know exhange rates and times.

Walden Two

Living simply butin comunity.

ex. Los Horcones (based on Skinner’s book)`

Phasing out a Token Economy

Can be started when the client is consistently successful in the progam.

• Thin schedule of reinforcement

• Decrease the number of behaviours that are elligible for tokens

  • Increasing the price for a backup reinforcer

Fear

Composed of both operant and respondent behaviour

With a present stimulus, the person experiences unlpeasant bodily responses (autonomic nervousystem arousal) and cognitive appraisal engages in escape or avoidance behaviour

CER

Conditioned emotional response

ex. fear of escalator

Relaxation Training Procedures

are strategies that people use to decrease the autonomic arousal that they experience as a component of fear and anxiety problems

Opposite responses than autonomic arousal

10-30 minutes

Rapid relaxation induction method

Quickly calm themsleves

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Person systematically tenses and relaxes each or the major muscle groups in the body. Leaves them more relaxed then when they started.

Diaphragmatic Breathing (Relaxed Breathing or Deep Breathing)

Person breathes deeply in a slow, rhythmic fashion. Replaces shallow anxious breaths with deeper calmer breathing.

• Activates the parasympathetic nervous system

• Can be used in conjunction with PMR

Attention-Focusing Exercises

Meditation, Guided Imagery, Hypnosis

Guided imagery

Your “happy place”, therapists describe your favourite place to be

Autogenic Training

Self produced. Person imagines being in a pleasant and peaceful scene and specific bodily sensations, such as their arms feeling warm or heavy.

• Could take around 35 minutes

Meditation

Focusing one’s attention to one’s object, event, or idea. From eastern philosophies and religions.

4 components to meditation

1. quiet, no distractions

2. Specific, comfortable posture

3. Open attitude

4. Focus of attention

Behavioural Relaxation Training

Person is taught to relax each muscle group in the body. Similar, but NOT PMR because it doesn’t tense each muscle group.

Mary Cover Jones

Practically invented behaviour therapy by herself

Joseph Wolpe

Made Systematic Desensitization

Systematic Desensitization

Person with phobia practices a relaxation technique while imagining scenes of fear-producing stimulus. Eventually being increasingly exposed to the stimuli.

Purely imaginative.

Subjective units of discomfort scale

SUDS scores of fear. 0-100 scale used to rate produced by a conditioned stimulus.

Developing a Hierarchy

Client identifies up to 20 different situations which progressively increase fear levels. Then progress through the heirarchy

Reciprocal Inhibition

relaxation response decreases the fear response.

Respondent Extinction

Presenting a CS repeatedly without the US

Part of procedue to reduce CERs

Can help extinguish CRs associated with substance abuse

In Vivo

Experiencing the real thing.

Imaginal

Mental representations of events

Symbolic

Overt representation of events, objects, or people

Categories of Conditioned Stimuli

In vivo, Imaginal, Symbolic

Counterconditioning

Includes extinction, and then trains with competing or incompatible action. ,

Flooding

Person is exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period until their anxiety subsides in the presence of the feared stimulus

• Starts scared but over time it decreases (respondent extinction)

• Prevents client from escaping or avoiding a situation

  • Highly uncomfortable for the person

Implosive Therapy

Imaginal version of flooding. Uses imagined stimuli or situations

Modeling

Child observes another person approaching the feared stimulus or engaging in a feared activity, and the child is then more likely to engage in similar behaviour. Can observe a live model, or a film/video model

Participant Modeling

Person first observes someone else cope with increasingly feared situations, then the person is encouraged to join in. Guided to increase contact with the feared object or event.

Computer-Aided Vicarious Exposure

Person uses a computer to guide scenarios/CSs that an on-screen person experiences. Not as effective as in vivo

Virtual Reality Exposure

headset, directional audio, scents, vibrations, etc.

In vivo or systematic desensitization?

In Vivo has been found to be more efficient.