National Autism Conference 2019

Token economies are among the oldest and most widely used procedures in applied behavior analysis. Unlike other successful technologies in behavior analysis, however, there has been little substantive contact between applied and basic research with token reinforcement over the years. Despite some 50 years of applied work on token economies, surprisingly little is known about the variables responsible for their effectiveness; they are rarely based on an understanding of the basic principles involved. This is beginning to change, as recent translational research is beginning to uncover the behavioral roots of token reinforcement. In this talk, I will discuss some research from laboratory and applied settings, designed to illustrate the benefits of an integrated approach to research and application. I will also provide concrete examples of how such knowledge of basic processes is translated into clinical practice. This type of function-based applied research has the potential to rapidly advance both the science and application of token systems. Credits: Act 48, SW, Psych, PT, OT, BACB, INFANT, ASHA