The British Journal of Psychiatry 147: 170-174 (1985)
© 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
The role of meals as a reinforcing event in a token economy programme
PJ Higson, PA Woods, MM Tannahill and NC Ellis
Items such as meals have frequently been used as back-up events in Token
Economy Programmes (TEPs) because of their supposed reinforcing
effectiveness. However, despite the dubious ethical questions that this
raises, there is little research evidence to support the necessity for
their use in TEP's with hospitalised chronic mentally ill patients. The
effects of introducing meals as a 'free' item on patients' performance of a
number of target behaviours were investigated in a TEP where they had
previously been scheduled as a back-up event. While 'free' meals produced a
slight increase in the actual number of meals eaten, there were no
systematic effects on patients' performance of the target behaviours.