Backup reinforcer:

: tangible objects, activities, or privileges that serve as reinforcers and that can be purchased with tokens.

Contingency contract:

 a mutually agreed upon document between parties (e.g., parent and child) that specified a contingent relationship between the completion of specified behaviors and access to specified reinforcers.

Dependent group contingency:

 a contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on the behavior of one member of the group or the behavior of a select group of members within the larger group.

Group contingency:

 a contingency in reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on the behavior of a) a person within the group, b) a select group of members within the larger group, c) each member of the group meeting a performance criterion.

Hero procedure:

 another term for a dependent group contingency i.e., person ears reward for the group.

Independent group contingency.

 a contingency in which reinforcement for each member of a group is dependent on that person’s meeting s performance criterion that is in the effect for all members of the group.

Independent group contingency:

 a contingency in which reinforcement for all members of a group is dependent on each member of the group meeting a performance criterion that is in effect for all members of the group.

Level system: .

 a component of some token economy systems in which participants advance up or down through a succession of levels contingent on their behavior at the current level.

Self-contract:

contingency contract that a person makes with himself; incorporating a self-selected task and reward as well as personal monitoring of task completions and self-delivery of the reward.

Token

an object that is rewarded contingent on appropriate behavior that serves as the medium of exchange for back up reinforcers.

Token economy:

 a system whereby participants earn generalized conditioned reinforcers (token, chips, points) as an immediate consequence for specific behaviors, participants accumulate tokens and exchange them for items and activities from a menu of back up reinforcers.

Token economy:

 a system whereby participants earn generalized conditioned reinforcers (token, chips, points) as an immediate consequence for specific behaviors, participants accumulate tokens and exchange them for items and activities from a menu of back up reinforcers.

Treatment drift:

an undesirable situation in which the independent variable of an experiment is applied differently during later stages than it was at the outset of the study.

Variability

the frequency and extent to which multiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes.