Select backup reinforcers that are genuinely motivating — not what should motivate you
A token economy fails if the backup reward — what the tokens buy — does not actually motivate the person.
Why it works
Backup reinforcers (the actual items, activities, or privileges that tokens can be exchanged for) determine the value of the token. If the backup reinforcer does not motivate the individual, the tokens have no functional value and the system collapses. Azrin’s original work used individualized reinforcer assessments to identify what each person actually found motivating, rather than assuming standard reinforcers. This is the most frequently skipped step in personal reward systems.
How to do it
- List 10–15 things you genuinely want — experiences, items, privileges — across a range of sizes and costs.
- Assign each a rough token cost proportional to its value to you (small = 5 tokens, medium = 20, large = 100).
- Test the system for one week: did you work toward any backup reinforcer? If not, the current menu does not motivate you and needs revision.
- Revisit the menu monthly — reinforcer value changes and the same reward can become neutral with familiarity.
Evidence
Reinforcer assessment and individualized backup reinforcer selection are standard procedures in applied behavior analysis and clinical token economy design. (clinical)
What functions as a reinforcer is individual and context-dependent; the gap between stated preferences and actual behavioral reinforcers is often large.
Common mistake
Using abstract or deferred backup reinforcers ("savings toward a vacation") that are too psychologically distant to function as real motivators for daily behavior.
Practice this with IX Coach
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More practices for Contingency Management and Token Economies
- Specify target behaviors precisely before designing any reward system
Contingency management fails when the target behavior is fuzzy — define exactly what earns the reward, in observable terms.
- Deliver rewards immediately after the target behavior occurs
The effectiveness of a contingency depends on how quickly the reward follows the behavior — delay is the principal enemy of reinforcement.
- Use escalating rewards to maintain motivation across time
Build in reward escalation — increasing token value for sustained performance — to counteract the habituation that flattens fixed rewards.
- Use response cost — losing tokens for target behavior failures — with care
Removing a token after a missed behavior can increase compliance, but creates emotional side effects that pure positive systems avoid.
- Pair token reinforcement with social reinforcement
Public acknowledgment and social recognition amplify the motivating effect of token systems beyond what tokens alone provide.
- Watch for overjustification — external rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation
For behaviors you already find intrinsically rewarding, adding external rewards can reduce your long-run motivation.
Related concepts
- Operant Conditioning and Schedules of Reinforcement
How consequences shape behavior and which reinforcement schedules build lasting habits
- Self-Determination Theory, Made Usable
The three needs that make motivation self-sustaining
- Atomic Habits, Made Practical
The four laws, the real mechanisms, and where the science is strong