What is a token economy?
A token economy is a system in which an individual earns tokens for targeted behaviors. Once he has collected a predetermined number of tokens he can trade them for an item or activity that he desires. Token economies are one type of secondary (conditioned) reinforcement. That is, tokens begin as essentially neutral stimuli, of little significance in and of themselves. However, as the tokens become increasingly associated with the reinforcers for which they are exchanged, the tokens themselves can become mildly reinforcing, making learning that much more motivating. Money is probably the token economy system that is most well-known. There is nothing particularly motivating about little bits of green paper. However, because we can use those green papers to buy food, housing, entertainment, etc. they can become extremely reinforcing, and we are willing to do a lot of work to obtain them.
