Enhancing Classroom Attentiveness by Preselection of Back-Up Reinforcers in a Token Economy

Abstract

The effects of different methods of selecting and exchanging back-up reinforcers are examined, with two mentally retarded children participating in a token economy in a special education class. In separate experiments each child received tokens contingent upon attentive behavior. The different methods of selecting and exchanging back-up reinforcers consisted of preselecting back-up events that were to be purchased in advance of earning the tokens versus selecting back-up events only after the requisite number of tokens had been earned. The two methods of selecting and exchanging back-up events were compared in separate simultaneous treatment designs for each child. The interventions were administered in the same phase, but balanced across the different time periods during which they were implemented. In each experiment preselecting back-up reinforcers prior to earning tokens led to higher levels of attentive behavior than did selecting back-up events after the tokens had been earned. Interpretations of the effects of preselecting back-up events that stressed the possible influence of making back-up events less remote in relation to the token-earning behaviors and the prompting function of the preselection procedure are discussed.