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token economy

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noun Psychiatry.
  1. a method of encouraging desirable behavior, especially in a hospital setting, by offering rewards of token money that can be exchanged for special food, access to television, and other bonuses.
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Origin of token economy

First recorded in 1965–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for token economy

token economy

noun
  1. a type of psychotherapy in which the inmates of an institution are rewarded for good behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012