Rehabilitation treatments

Two command-word failures. Identification without justification: "a strength is it is cheap; a weakness is it might not last" are labels with no reason. Use point, then because, then which means — tokens exist only inside, so reinforcement stops at release, doing little for reoffending. And an improvement is not a weakness: it is a change, such as phasing tokens out.

The most-cited failure, in two forms. One: the programme described as punishment — tokens removed for bad behaviour. That is negative punishment, not the treatment; the mechanism is a token given for pro-social behaviour. Two: the exchange left out — a token is worthless unless it can be exchanged. Both halves are needed: earned for pro-social behaviour, and exchanged.

Examiner reports say AO1 on anger management is weak: candidates cannot say what it involves and just restate the name. A creditworthy answer names the three stages (cognitive preparation, skill acquisition, application practice) and two real techniques — controlled breathing, positive self-talk, assertive communication — and says it is cognitive behavioural.

If a token economy works, it looks like rehabilitation, but two outcomes get merged: behaviour inside, and reoffending after release. A token economy is very good at the first, but reinforced behaviour fades once the reinforcement stops, and no one issues tokens outside — so it is compliance, not internalisation. Also, anger management only fits anger-driven offending.

The operant vocabulary a token economy imports is the biggest sink. Giving a token for pro-social behaviour is positive reinforcement. Taking a token away for antisocial behaviour is negative punishment, not negative reinforcement — performing a behaviour to remove something unpleasant. A secondary reinforcer becomes rewarding by being exchanged; it is not an "enforcer".

A difference question (token economy vs anger management) is not two separate definitions; examiners credit that as an implicit difference worth one mark. The second mark comes from a connective naming the axis: a token economy rewards pro-social behaviour and works mainly inside, whereas anger management changes the offender's thinking so the skills last after release.