Reducing and measuring inappropriate verbalizations in a token classroom.

McLaughlin et al. (1972) worked with a 5th/6th-grade class. They used a token point system. Kids earned points for staying quiet and lost points for calling out.

The researchers flipped the system on and off four times. This ABAB design showed whether the tokens really caused the change.

When tokens were on, disruptive talk dropped sharply. When tokens stopped, talk-outs shot back up. Each return of tokens brought quiet again.

The pattern was large and clear across every reversal.

O'leary et al. (1969) ran a nearly identical ABAB token study three years earlier. They also saw ~80% drop in disruption, showing the effect replicates.

Ladouceur et al. (1997) later added self-management. Students tracked their own talk-outs while still earning tokens. The combo worked even in a class for kids with learning disabilities.

Kaiser et al. (2022) pooled 24 newer token studies. Their meta backs the 1972 finding: tokens still cut classroom problem behavior, but today we tweak backup prizes and exchange rates to fit each room.

You can copy this 1972 setup tomorrow. Pick one disruptive behavior. Award one point for each quiet interval. Take one point for each infraction. Let students trade points for 5-minute preferred activities at day's end. Run it for a week, remove it, then bring it back. The ABAB check will prove to you, the teacher, and the kids that the system works.