USING A HYPOTHETICAL PURCHASE TASK TO INFORM THE SELECTION OF TERMINAL REINFORCERS IN A TOKEN ECONOMY

Author

Marty D. Price, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

12-1-2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jacobs, Eric

Abstract

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OFMarty D. Price, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology, presented on November 13, 2024, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: USING A HYPOTHETICAL PURCHASE TASK TO INFORM THE SELECTION OF TERMINAL REINFORCERS IN A TOKEN ECONOMY MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Eric Jacobs Token economies are among the most used techniques in applied behavior analysis across a variety of locations and diagnoses. However, most of the research in token economies is targeted at the economy and how it functions, and little attention is paid to the methods for backup reinforcer selection. Often simple interviews or standard preference assessments are used to determine which items are selected, with the values assigned to those items arbitrarily selected by the clinician. Methods within behavioral economics can be used to address this oversight, specifically hypothetical purchasing tasks and demand curve analysis. For this study, four participants with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities will be asked to complete two experiments using hypothetical purchasing tasks, the first with fixed incomes and variable prices and the second with variable incomes and fixed prices. A third experiment will introduce a simulated token economy by introducing a work component necessary to earn tokens to spend on backup reinforcers. Therefore, the purpose of the proposed research is to assess the efficacy of using hypothetical purchasing to inform the creation of a token economy for the treatment of behavioral problems in individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.Keywords: hypothetical purchasing, token economy, developmental disabilities, assessment