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Use of a token economy to eliminate excessive inappropriate social behavior in an adult with developmental disabilities
Author(s) -
Leblanc Linda A.,
Hagopian Louis P.,
Maglieri Kristen A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
behavioral interventions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.605
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1099-078X
pISSN - 1072-0847
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-078x(200004/06)15:2<135::aid-bin51>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - token economy , psychology , aggression , social skills , social behavior , wright , intervention (counseling) , conversation , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , social environment , social competence , behavior management , security token , social psychology , social change , psychiatry , reinforcement , communication , art , paleontology , political science , law , economics , biology , art history , economic growth , computer security , computer science
Adults with developmental disabilities frequently have both deficits in appropriate social skills and excesses in inappropriate social behavior (Matson, LeBlanc, & Weinheimer, 1999). Typically, published treatment studies have focused on social skills training procedures that teach and promote the use of new social behaviors. However, only a few studies have focused on management of existing social behaviors that are problematic because they occur excessively or in an inappropriate context (Wright, Herzog, & Seymour, 1992). The current study focuses on management of three types of inappropriate social behavior in a 26‐year‐old male with moderate mental retardation: inappropriate social interactions, inappropriate sexual behavior, and verbal aggression. A token economy with response cost procedure was implemented using a DRO interval as the basis for earning tokens. Using a multiple‐baseline design across behaviors, each of the three types of inappropriate social behavior was successfully treated. After demonstrating the success of the procedure, the DRO interval was increased while maintaining the reductions in inappropriate social behaviors. Appropriate behaviors such as initiating conversation, shaking hands, etc maintained throughout the intervention. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.