Megan Troy

Assignment 2
1. Specify the age of students and setting: I will implement this token economy with a 6th grade
student with behavioral issues in math class. The student loves participating in the lesson and
receiving attention but has a hard time turning in assigned work.
2. Provide an operational definition of the behavior you want to increase: The student
completes his assigned work with 80% accuracy and turns it in at the designated time set by the
teacher.
3. Define your tokens: The tokens will be basketball stickers that I will put in a small notebook
when the student exhibits the expected behavior.

4. Identify incentives (i.e., back-up reinforces) for appropriate behavior. I will have a menu
of reinforcements for the student. The reinforcements he can choose from will be shooting hoops
with me on Fridays during lunch, getting to chew some gum, choosing a candy from the candy
jar, getting three problems taken off of the homework, getting to take off his shoes in class,
getting to do whatever classroom job he wants for that day, having extra device time, receiving a
positive phone call home, earning extra recess for the class, and being able to listen to music
during independent work time. Whenever the student earns a reinforcement, he will be able to
choose whatever one he wants that time around. This will help him have a variety of options, so
he will not tire of the reinforcements and satiation will be less likely to occur. These
reinforcements are also tailored to his preferences. He loves playing basketball, so I included an
option to play with me after we eat lunch on Fridays. He also loves to win prizes and privileges,
so many of these choices will be appealing to him. I also added options that involve him helping
out and having a classroom job, because he really loves to do this and it keeps him actively
participating.
5. Identify the contingencies for earning tokens. In order to teach this new behavior, the
student will be on a continuous schedule of reinforcement. Every time the student exhibits the
identified behavior, the teacher will give him a token immediately. When the student turns in his
assigned work, the teacher will immediately give him a token. This will happen daily during the
40 minute class period for math. After the student has learned the expected behavior, we will

start thinning the reinforcement schedule into a variable ratio intermittent schedule where he will
earn reinforcements after a certain number of behaviors on average.
6. Describe procedures for exchange system. The student will keep his stickers in a small
journal and will be able to cash-in for a reinforcement before or after class when he has enough
stickers to purchase something from the reinforcement menu. The reinforcements on the menu
will have different sticker prices based on desirability and availability. The amount of stickers the
student will need will be anywhere from 5-15. The student can bring up his journal before or
after class and choose a reinforcement with his stickers. After he has used the stickers on a page,
I will cross them out and we will flip to the next page of the journal.
7. Briefly describe the procedures that students must be taught to successfully participate
in your token economy. I will explain to my student that he will be earning stickers in order to
choose reinforcements from the reinforcement menu. I will then explicitly teach him the
behavior he needs to earn his rewards and model it for him. Then, I will show him the
reinforcement menu I have created and brainstorm any other ideas he would like to have in there.
We will talk about the amount of stickers he has to earn in order to get those rewards. I will
explain that I will put stickers in a small journal I give him and that those stickers will add up to
get him a reward. I will keep his journal with me and give it to him before class begins with the
current date written where the next line of stickers will start. During class, he should have his
notebook readily available for me to add stickers whenever he completes an assignment with
80% accuracy. After each class period, he will bring up his journal to me, and we will talk about
how he did and how he can continue on a good track or improve. When he is able to cash in for a
reinforcement, we will talk about what he wants before or after class and make that happen as
soon as possible.
8. Create a system for monitoring the effectiveness of your token economy.
- I will measure the target behavior with a restricted event recording data collection method. I
will count the number of times the student completes his assignment with 80% accuracy out of
the number of assignments or opportunities given. I will use this data collection method every
day during the 40 minute period for math. First, I will gather baseline data over a period of two
weeks. Then, I will start the intervention data and gather data each day for the weeks after that.
Behavior: The student completes his assigned work with 80% accuracy and turns it in at the
designated time set by the teacher.
Day

Number of Opportunities

Number of Behavior
Occurrences

Monday 12/1
Tuesday 12/2
Wednesday 12/3
Thursday 12/4

3
4
3
4

3
5
4
5

Percentage of
Opportunities
(Frequency)
100%
80%
75%
80%

Friday 12/5

60%

- I will measure the teacher behavior or the amount of tokens being given by counting the
number of tokens given by the teacher after the intervention starts. I will count the number of
tokens each day during the 40 minute math period.
Day
Monday 12/1
Tuesday 12/2
Wednesday 12/3
Thursday 12/4
Friday 12/5

Number of Tokens Given

3
5
4
5
5

9. Formulate a data-decision rule for determining when/whether to modify the program.

When the frequency of a student turning in homework drops to 70% or below for three or more
days, the intervention will be determined to not be working. If this happens, I will brainstorm
new reinforcements to have on the reinforce menu. I will then change the reinforcements
accordingly to combat satiation. If I have been thinning the reinforcement schedule and ratio
strain has occurred, I may move back to a continuous schedule of reinforcement.