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Basic Research Informing the Use of Token Economies in Applied Settings

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Autism Service Delivery

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Abstract

Token economies have been used to prompt and organize human economic behavior for centuries. Features important to the establishment and maintenance of token systems began to be formally studied in the laboratory around the turn of the twentieth century. Since that time, their utility in application has been considered one of the most important advances not only within behavior analysis but also in the field of psychology more generally. This chapter reviews laboratory research that has proven foundational to understanding how best to profitably arrange token economies in application. Literature concerning the relative influence of token economic features (token production, exchange production, and token exchange) is reviewed, along with research addressing how best to condition tokens as important stimuli, how to train extended behavioral chains, and how the inclusion of aversive techniques impacts responding. Beyond providing a basis for the effective development and implementation of token economies, the following will ideally function to advance the translational interchange between research and application regarding issues of social importance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI, USA

    Carla H. Lagorio

  2. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Bryan T. Yanagita

Authors
  1. Carla H. Lagorio
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  2. Bryan T. Yanagita
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Correspondence to Carla H. Lagorio .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Florence D. DiGennaro Reed

  2. Dept. Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Derek D. Reed

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Lagorio, C., Yanagita, B. (2015). Basic Research Informing the Use of Token Economies in Applied Settings. In: DiGennaro Reed, F., Reed, D. (eds) Autism Service Delivery. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2656-5_8

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