Backup reinforcer
The item, activity or privilege a learner receives in exchange for tokens, which gives the tokens their reinforcing value.
In a token economy, tokens are not reinforcing by themselves at first. They become conditioned reinforcers because they are exchanged for backup reinforcers: things the learner already wants, such as snacks, toys, screen time, outings, special jobs or time with a preferred person. If the backup reinforcers lose their value, the tokens lose theirs too, and the behavior they were supporting usually weakens.
Good backup reinforcers are chosen from preference assessment results and from what the learner asks for. Offering a variety (sometimes called a menu) lowers the risk of satiation and lets one token system work on days when the learner's preferences shift. Different backup reinforcers can cost different numbers of tokens, which the supervisor sets in the plan.
An RBT's role is to keep backup reinforcers available as described, deliver them exactly when the exchange rules say, and keep access controlled. If the learner can get a backup reinforcer freely outside the token system, it no longer gives the tokens much value. The RBT also reports when a backup reinforcer seems to have lost its appeal, so the supervisor can update the menu or run a new preference assessment.
Backup reinforcers must be appropriate for the learner's age and setting, and food items must follow any dietary restrictions or caregiver instructions.
Example and non-example
| Example | A child earns 5 stars during a session and trades them for choosing between bubbles, a puzzle app or a short walk outside. Those three choices are the backup reinforcers. |
|---|---|
| Non-example | A sticker the child receives right after putting on a shoe is the token, not the backup reinforcer. It is delivered immediately and later exchanged. |
Don't confuse it with
| Token economy | A token economy is the full system; the backup reinforcer is only the part that tokens are traded for. |
|---|---|
| Unconditioned reinforcer | Backup reinforcers may be conditioned or unconditioned; the term describes their role in a token system, not how they gained their value. |
Test yourself
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Question 1A new token system is introduced for a client, but the client shows no interest in the tokens and the target behavior has not changed. Which step in the plan is most likely to make the tokens effective?
Show answer
A: Teach the exchange by having the client trade tokens for a backup reinforcer right away. Tokens become reinforcers only after they are paired with backup reinforcers. Early on, the client should exchange tokens soon after earning them, often after just one or two, so the tokens reliably lead to something valuable.
- B: More tokens do not help if the tokens have not yet been paired with backup reinforcers.
- C: The look of a token does not give it value; pairing with backup reinforcers does.
- D: Removing tokens is response cost, a punishment procedure, and it does not establish tokens as reinforcers.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2In a token system, what does the exchange rate refer to?
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A: How many tokens each backup reinforcer costs. The exchange rate is the price of backup reinforcers in tokens, for example 5 tokens for a turn on the swing.
- B: How many tokens each response earns is the token earning schedule, not the exchange rate.
- C: When trades happen is the timing of the exchange, not the price of backup reinforcers.
- D: Removing tokens for problem behavior is response cost.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 3In a classroom token system, tokens are normally exchanged for items from a prize box. For several weeks, the prize box is not available, but tokens are still delivered for the target behavior and can no longer be traded for anything. What is most likely to happen?
Show answer
B: The tokens will probably lose their effectiveness as reinforcers.. A conditioned reinforcer keeps its value through continued pairing with other reinforcers. When tokens can no longer be exchanged, that pairing stops and the tokens are likely to lose their effectiveness.
- A: Conditioned reinforcers do not become unconditioned; their value depends on learning.
- C: A conditioned reinforcer's value is not permanent; it weakens without continued pairing.
- D: Losing the backup makes tokens weaker reinforcers; it does not make them punishers.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.11 Token economies in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.