Token economy

Aim of token economy

Aims to manage schizophrenia rather than treat it, they are a form of behavioural therapy where desirable behaviours are encouraged by the use of selective reinforcement based on the principles of operant conditioning, it focuses mainly on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Background

Based on operant conditioning through positive reinforcement, the tokens hold no intrinsic value but when a patient presents an appropriate and improving behaviour they are given a token that can be exchanged for a primary reinforcer such as tv time, chocolate or cigarettes

Contrastly, a bad behaviour leads to the removal of a token, bringing the patient further from a reward, extinguishing the negative behaviour

Evaluation points

• Environmentally reductionist

• Alternative treatments: drug treatments, family therapy or CBT

• TEARS

• Ethics, long term effectiveness

Extra research (Goharipour et al. 2012)

Found that a token economy approach reduced negative symptoms scores by 46% from scores of 77 to 41