Behaviour modification in custody

Question 1

What are token economies, and what are they used for?

Answer 1

They are a form of behaviour modification - they reinforce obedient behaviour and punish disobedient behaviours, with the views to making a behaviour change (operant conditioning)

Token economy programmes are used to obtain desirable behaviour in closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile an adult offenders in custody

Question 2

How do token economies work?

Answer 2

Rewards are usually tokens or points (secondary reinforcers) and these can be periodically exchanged for something that the individual wants (primary reinforces)
Tokens and the associated privileges can be removed for negative behaviour; this is a form of punishment
Behaviours and rewards would be made clear to the prisoners before the program is
implemented
Behaviours are changed in increments, so that desirable behaviours (e.g. avoiding conflict) are broken down into small steps (e.g. working positively in a group, walking away when provoked etc) which can be reinforced a step at a time
All those who come into contact with offenders must follow this same regime of selective reinforcement

Question 3

What is a conjugal visit?

Answer 3

A scheduled visit in which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor, usually their partner
The parties may engage in sexual activity
- Only legal in 6 states in America
- May reduce sexual and physical violence in prisons

Question 4

Name 2 strengths of behaviour modification in custody

Answer 4

1. Research support - Hobbs and Holt (1976) observed a token economy in use at a state training school for adolescent delinquents aged 12-15
   125 males were observed living in 4 cottages (one was a control group who didn’t receive tokens)
   Baseline data, before tokens, was collected for all groups
   They found that mean percentages for social behaviours increased by an average of 27%. The control group showed no increase in the same time period
   This suggests that token economy systems do work
2. Easy to administer - There’s no need for specialist professionals, can be implemented by virtually anyone in any institution, cost-effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established
   This suggests that behaviour modification techniques can be established in most prisons and accessed by most prisoners

Question 5

Name 2 limitations of behaviour modification in custody

Answer 5

1. Regarded as manipulative and dehumanising - participation is obligatory for all offenders rather than optional
   Some prisoners are not able to earn tokens because they can’t control their behaviour and so are denied basic privileges or even necessities
2. Any positive changes may be lost when released from prison - Cohen and Fitzpatrick (1971) found that offenders who took part in a token economy programme were less likely to reoffend than a control group two years later, but after 3 years, rates of recidivism were back to reflecting national statistics