For this I will be looking at the use of Token Economy in the Juvenile Facilities as a way to modify these juvenile's behavior in order to elicit a certain behavior that is pleasing to the human eye that in return will form a way of learning. Token Economy can be used in many settings whether in the home or school but to apply it in a correctional facility is a whole different scenario and getting these Delinquents to abide by these methods is another case. I will be using four references to discuss how the use of this strategy has changed the outcome of behaviors in this particular setting.
What is Token Economy?.
Token Economy is a system for providing positive reinforcement to a child or children by giving them token for completing tasks or behaving in a desired way. It was developed during the 1960's by a man called Nathan Azrin, which was implemented to treat schizophrenics. Dr. Azrin and Dr. Ayllon laid out their evidence in 1968 in The Token Economy. As stated in the article, in Dr. Azrin's token economy, "people barter for rewards, or tokens, by modifying their behavior in incremental steps" (Vitellol, 2013). Token Economy is classified as Secondary Reinforcements where a stimulus gains its reinforcement power through with a Primary Reinforcement. With this type of strategy it is a way of strengthening the child's behavior and the likely hood that the behavior will occur. Therefore, in a juvenile facility setting the ideal goal is to have the children perform desirable tasks or elicit a desired behavior in order to receive tokens for any personal items they would want. This method is a type of learning is a form of Operant Conditioning which is a procedure whereby a behavior is strengthen or weakened by its consequences. According to the article and its author token economy at the time in its development under Azrin changed the way in which children learn and how they are discipline (Vitellol, 2013).