Behaviour Modification in Custody (AQA A Level Psychology)

The use of token economies to change behaviour

• A token economy is one in which positive behaviours are rewarded and negative behaviours are discouraged (i.e. a form of operant conditioning)

• Token economies are a feature of offender behaviour management as well as being used in health settings such as mental hospitals or care facilities

• The aim of a token economy is incentivise offenders to behave in ways which are socially acceptable (e.g. avoiding fights and confrontations both with staff and other prisoners; keeping their cell clean and tidy)

• Token economies in custodial settings aim to help offenders to manage their time in prison (without the need for external incentive such as tokens) and to prepare for life on the ‘outside’ 

• Tokens are in themselves value-less but they can be exchanged for desirable ‘treats’ or privileges e.g. food, more outdoor exercise time, an extra hour’s TV viewing etc.

• Tokens act as secondary reinforcers i.e. it is not the tokens themselves that provide the reward, it is what they can be exchanged for (e.g. the primary reinforcement of food, extra visits from family etc)

Extra time at the ping-pong table could be the result of earning tokens.

Research which investigates behaviour modification in custody

• Elbers et al. (2022) -  a review article which concluded that token economies yield positive short-term behavioural effects in individuals with learning disabilities or who are cognitively below average

• Milan & McKee (1976) conducted experimental research in a maximum security prison and found that the combination of praise and tokens was more effective in changing behaviour than was the threat of punishment in the form of removal of social and/or recreational time 

Evaluation of behaviour modification in Custody

Strengths

• Token economies have been found to be successful in changing behaviours e.g. Gendreau et al.’s (2014) meta-analysis found that token economies encourage prisoners (69% in their analysis) to engage in prosocial behaviour, education and work assignments

• A programme of token economy behaviour management is easy to administer and organise and requires little (expensive) expertise to set up

Weaknesses

• The long-term effectiveness of token economies is open to some speculation and doubt: are the behavioural changes maintained beyond prison?

• Token economies are not as effective with ‘old hands’ as they are with juvenile offenders i.e. the longer someone has been part of the prison system, the less easy they are to reach with rehabilitative systems such as a token economy

Link to Approaches:

Token economies are a pure form of operant conditioning from the Behaviourist approach: desirable behaviour is positively reinforced with an immediate reward which should result in a repetition of the desired behaviour as the prisoner will be motivated to receive another reward. You can also mention the role of vicarious reinforcement as being a key factor in token economies: prisoner A sees prisoner B being rewarded for having performed a desirable behaviour and this motivates prisoner A to follow the example  e.g. ‘He was rewarded for staying out of that fight - if I do similar then I’ll get a token too’