Token economies require careful planning and implementation. Token economies require high levels of teacher commitment, time and skill and should be undertaken only when less intrusive measures, such as reinforcement and rule management have been tried and have failed. The rest of this summary will focus on these steps. A target behavior should be observable, countable, and measurable. When feasible, students should be involved in selecting target behaviors in order to reinforce feelings of ownership.
Reward systems can only be as effective as the selection of appropriate reinforcers.
Students must want to earn the reinforcers. Students can take a reinforcer survey to identify desirable reinforcers. Reinforcers are typically listed in reinforcement menus. These reinforcers should include items or activities which are available at different forms and in different levels. Students may earn stickers, pencils, or popcorn, free time with a peer, message carrier, or tutoring privileges, or work at a center, writing letters, or eating lunch with the teacher.