The home point system: token reinforcement procedures for application by parents of children with behavior problems.
A one-hour parent training plus pocket change can slash chore refusal and sibling fights at home.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two families learned a home point system in one short meeting.
Parents earned points for their 5- to 10-year-olds by handing out plastic chips.
Kids traded chips later for TV time, snacks, or bike rides.
The study tracked 21 everyday behaviors like clearing dishes and sharing toys.
What they found
Parents said chore refusal and sibling bickering dropped sharply.
The simple chip system worked without extra staff or fancy gear.
Families kept the program running on their own after the study ended.
How this fits with other research
Regnier et al. (2022) later showed you must plan for the day tokens stop.
They found thinning the chip schedule and adding praise keeps gains alive.
Kaiser et al. (2022) proved tokens also rock in K-5 classrooms.
Their meta-analysis found large effects, but you must tweak backup prizes for general vs. special ed.
Andzik et al. (2022) added a twist: give a quick break for problem behavior and a chip for work.
This cut escape behavior without extinction, showing parents can be softer yet still effective.
Why it matters
You can teach any parent to run a token economy in under an hour.
Use cheap items like pennies or stickers.
Pick three target behaviors and five backup prizes the child already loves.
Plan to fade chips to praise once behavior holds steady.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parent-child problems within the home are frequently reported to be instances in which children refuse to help with household chores, bicker among themselves, or engage in verbally inappropriate behavior toward their parents. The present study investigated the effects of a token reinforcement program administered by the parents in ameliorating these problems. Two sets of parents, with a total of five children between the ages of 5 and 10 yr, were taught to administer a token economy within their homes. The parents received instruction in specifying desired social and chore behaviors, communicated these behavioral goals to their children, recorded data on their occurrence, and managed a point system backed with reinforcers normally found in the home. The token reinforcement program was shown to have successfully modified 15 problem behaviors in Family 1 and six in Family 2. In addition, the parents rated all 21 behavior changes as significant improvements. These studies indicated that some cooperative parents need only a small amount of professional help to learn to manage their children's behavior problems with token reinforcement procedures.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1972 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1972.5-485