A system for recording individualized behavioral data in a token program.
Print a daily matrix sheet to track each client’s tokens, behavior counts, and balance in one place.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jenkins et al. (1973) built a one-page daily matrix for token programs.
Each client gets a row. Columns hold tokens earned, time-sample counts, and running totals.
The sheet lives on a clipboard so staff can mark it all day without flipping pages.
What they found
The paper shows the form, not outcome data.
It lets you fold five recording jobs into one sheet that stays with the client.
How this fits with other research
O'leary et al. (1969) came first. They used wall graphs to track ward-wide token points. The 1973 sheet zooms in on each person and fits in your hand.
Petscher et al. (2006) extends the idea. They added staff training and self-monitoring so the token economy is run right, not just recorded.
Blue et al. (1971) is a cousin. They stored cumulative records in flat drawers; M et al. store token data on one sheet. Both solve the same headache: how to keep high-volume data tidy.
Why it matters
If you run a token economy, you can print the matrix today. One sheet replaces a stack of loose data forms and keeps reliability checks in view. Your RBTs always know the balance, and you keep a permanent record for billing or audit.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A data matrix system used to record and summarize individual behavioral data is described. The major characteristics of the system are: (1) it provides a place to record and summarize all patient token exchanges, whether for standard contingencies or for idiosyncratic behavior; (2) it serves as a record and summary for time samples observed during a 24-hr period and as a record of reliability data on time sample measures; (3) it provides a place where the new token balance for each patient can be calculated and recorded for use the next day; (4) it provides for calculation of an individual patient's token balance at any given moment; and (5) it is a permanent record of each patient's daily participation in the program and documents progress in terms of his economic status as well as in changes in critical target behaviors.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1973 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1973.6-333