The Effects of Token Economy Menu Manipulations on Token Demand

Token economies are one of the most effective interventions in behavior analysis, yet there is substantial room for optimization. One important area of optimization is the collection of back-up reinforcers available for exchange, often called the menu. Little is known about how the number and type of items on the menu influence a token economy's effectiveness. In this study a within subject, experimental survey was used to measure the effects of token menu manipulations on hypothetical work output (i.e., widget production) using 12 hypothetical purchase tasks. Eighty participants (N = 80) imagined a hypothetical scenario in which they could earn money building widgets and use the money to buy items on a token menu. Each hypothetical purchase task corresponded to a combination of different menu sizes (i.e., 3, 6, 12 items) and types (i.e., Food, Activities, Tangibles, Mixed). During each task participants indicated how many widgets they would make at nine fixed-ratio token-production schedule requirements. Each schedule requirement corresponded to the number of widgets a participant must make to earn one dollar. Statistical modeling of participant responses using the exponentiated model of demand was conducted using mixed-effects modeling. Increasing the size of the menu produced consistent increases in demand intensity. Activity, Tangible, and Mixed menus produced robust increases in demand intensity and price sensitivity compared to Food menu, only. The results of this study extend prior research on generalized token reinforcement by demonstrating that increasing the menu size and number of back-up reinforcer categories increases the reinforcing value of tokens.