Abstract
Token economies are among the most widely used procedures in behavior analysis and research on token economies has spanned over 80 years. Several textbooks have outlined the essential components of token economies and suggested how they can be trained and implemented in practice. However, procedures evaluated in applied research can vary from how those procedures are implemented in clinical practice. It is conceivable that the way in which token economies are implemented in clinical settings does not resemble the procedures described in research and behavior analytic textbooks. We surveyed 255 board certified behavior analysts and board certified assistant behavior analysts about their commonly used practices when training and implementing token economies with individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Results suggest that certain aspects of token economies in practice often bear only superficial resemblance to how they are described in textbooks.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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All authors contributed to the study conception, analysis, and preparation of the present manuscript. All authors assisted in the development of questions and responses to be included in the survey. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Nathalie Fernandez. All authors commented on previous version of the manuscript and have approved the final version.
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Fernandez, N., Argueta, T. & DeLeon, I.G. Common Practices used to Establish and Implement Token Economies in Clinical and Instructional Settings: A Survey of BACB Certificants. Behav Analysis Practice 16, 1151–1162 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00800-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00800-5