The Token Economy : A Recent Review and Evaluation

This article presents a recent and inclusive review of the use of token economies in various environments (schools, home, etc.). Digital and manual searches were carried using the following databases: Google Scholar, Psych Info (EBSCO), and The Web of Knowledge. The search terms included: token economy, token systems, token reinforcement, behavior modification, classroom management, operant conditioning, animal behavior, token literature reviews, and token economy concerns. The criteria for inclusion were studies that implemented token economies in settings where academics were assessed. Token economies have been extensively implemented and evaluated in the past. Few articles in the peerreviewed literature were found being published recently. While token economy reviews have occurred historically (Kazdin, 1972, 1977, 1982), there has been no recent overview of the research. During the previous several years, token economies in relation to certain disorders have been analyzed and reviewed; however, a recent review of token economies as a field of study has not been carried out. The purpose of this literature review was to produce a recent review and evaluation on the research of token economies across settings.