Token Economy in Juvenile Correctional Facilities

Through his hard work and determination the token economy system is now a favored way of behavior modification in many learning institutions and even in the most needed programs such as juvenile facilities. .
             Token Economy is a form of behaviorism and one of the greatest behaviorist of all time B.F. Skinner believed in the modification of behavior with the use of the token economy system. like Azrin Skinner used the token system to shape and modify behavior as well, according to the author, Token economy is a system in which targeted behaviors are reinforced with tokens (secondary reinforcers) and are later exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers), (McLead, 2007). In other words if a desirable behavior is exhibit by the patient then he/she will receive a token and that token can be exchanged for something pleasurable of the patients desire. According to the video, Skinner talks about the prison settings where inmates can be given motivation through reinforcements by eliciting desired behavior in the applied prison settings (Skinner, 1972). He describes that it is a huge motivator because prisoners can use these rewards as a means in order to receive better equipment and materials. Through this process we can get people to exhibit better behaviors whether in a school, home, and prison setting or people with mental disorders. According to the video, Dr. Bernard R. Wagner described the token economy as a structured learning situation and is taken in the form of chips which always involves learning appropriate behavior (Skinner, 1972). These Tokens are given in wide ranges of behavior as long as the behavior is appropriate. In other words token economy is the way in which children are being shaped in terms that they will perform acceptable behaviors in order to be rewarded, because he is being reinforced for it so the likely hood is that the behavior will increase. This is the direction in which we want the juvenile delinquents aiming, because they now can be incorporated into society knowing that if they elicit acceptable behaviors they can be reinforced positively by society.