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TOKEN REINFORCEMENT DURING THE INSTATEMENT AND SHAPING OF FLUENCY IN THE TREATMENT OF STUTTERING
Author(s) -
Howie Pauline M.,
Woods C. Lee
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1982.15-55
Subject(s) - reinforcement , security token , token economy , psychology , fluency , stuttering , developmental psychology , audiology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , computer science , medicine , mathematics education , computer security
The value of token reinforcement in the instatement and shaping of fluency was examined in an intensive treatment program for adult stutterers. Experiment 1 examined the effect of removing the tangible back‐up reinforcers for the token system and found that clients' performance in the program was equally good with or without these back‐up reinforcers, suggesting that a strict token economy may not be crucial to rapid progress through treatment. Experiment 2 compared contingent and noncontingent token reinforcement, while controlling for some variables that may have confounded the results of earlier research, and found no difference in clients' performance. Experiment 3 examined the effect of the entire removal of token reinforcement. Performance was found to be no worse under a “no tokens” system than under a system of tokens with back‐up reinforcers. It is argued that in a highly structured treatment program where many other reinforcers are operating, token reinforcement may be largely redundant. Clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.