Self-recording in training girls to increase work and evoke staff praise in an institution for offenders.

Four teenage girls lived in a facility for young offenders. Staff wanted them to work more and earn praise.

The girls learned to count their own completed tasks on a card. A therapist also gave small tokens when they finished work. The team tracked the girls’ work and how often staff praised them across three different rooms.

When self-counting plus tokens started, three girls doubled or tripled their work. Staff praise also rose.

After tokens stopped, the higher work and praise lasted a short while for two girls, then dipped. One girl kept her gains longer.

Maguire et al. (2022) later showed that a full Behavioral Skills Training plus OBM package can push residential staff to 100% COVID-19 rule following. Their 2022 tools are stronger than the 1976 token system, but both aim to lift staff behavior in group homes.

Geurts et al. (2008) and Sawyer et al. (2017) also used brief BST to quickly raise adult accuracy. These papers echo the 1976 idea: short, clear training plus feedback works, whether the learner is a youth or an adult.

Lyons (1995) used a multiple-baseline design like Hodos et al. (1976), but trained parents through peers instead of teaching youths to count their own work. Both studies show single-case methods can track real-world skill growth.

You can start self-management with a simple wrist counter and tiny rewards, even with teens who “don’t care” about points. Pair the youth’s own counts with immediate staff praise for a quick boost. Fade the tokens slowly and watch for drop-off so you can re-add praise or points before the skill disappears.