Independent Contingency and Token Economy at Recess to Reduce Aggression.

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• School Psychology

Background:

• School-wide behavior problems often escalate in unstructured settings like lunch and recess.
• Tier 1 positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) are effective in managing student behavior.
• Unstructured times present unique challenges for behavior management in schools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reduce student aggression during elementary school lunch/recess periods.
• To implement a token economy as an independent group contingency.
• To assess the impact of prosocial behavior reinforcement on aggression.

Main Methods:

• A token economy system was used, awarding school "dollars" for prosocial behaviors.
• Students could exchange earned dollars for incentives at a student store.
• The intervention was applied across all elementary grade levels during lunch/recess for 3 months.

Main Results:

• Student aggression levels decreased by 50-100% from baseline across all grade levels.
• Some intervention groups demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in aggression.
• Effect sizes indicated variability in the intervention's impact across groups.

Conclusions:

• The token economy intervention effectively reduced student aggression during unstructured school periods.
• Socially mediated contingencies among students likely contributed to the intervention's success.
• Despite limitations in backup reinforcer access, the strategy showed promise for school-wide behavior management.