L'économie de jetons en contexte scolaire : risque d'un effet délétère sur la motivation ?

Inclusion of children with behavioral disorders in regular classroom invites to find original solutions. The proposal of token economy programs is one of those responses. A barrier to the use by teachers of this type of program is the idea that they induce a decrease in intrinsic motivation. Within the framework of a project dedicated to promote social skills at school, a token economy program is proposed in a kindergarten class during the food-brake. The target behaviors are successively reinforced, and then the token economy program is gradually removed. The results show that there is no deleterious effect of rewards on intrinsic motivation of children to behave according to the class rules. Some elements to consider in order to avoid a potential noxious effect are discussed.