Chaney

Question 1

Method - Condition, Variables/ Design

Answer 1

Field experiment: Man made manipulation of independent variable:

Condition 1: Children used a small standard device the breath-a-tech

Condition 2: Children used a “funhaler”

Natural environment: The participants own home.

Dependent variable The amount of adherence to the prescribed medical regime.

Repeated Measures Design- children took part in both conditions.

Question 2

Sample

Answer 2

32 children:
22 males and 10 females
Aged between 1.5-6 years old, the average age was 3.2 years old.
On average had been diagnosed with asthma for 2.2 years.
From a range of socioeconomic background
All living in Western Australia, Perth
Random Sampling

Question 3

Procedure

Answer 3

Standard device and spacer were compared to the Funhaler to ensure no significant differences in the output of medication.

Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire relating to how easy the standard device was to use, compliance of parents and children, and treatment attitudes- this was a structured closed question questionnaire. A consent form was also given to parents at this point.

Participants were then asked to use the Funhaler instead of their normal inhaler, they used this for two weeks and then completed another questionnaire the same as the first but relating to the use of the Funhaler.

During the study the researcher randomly contacted parents by phone (interview) and asked them whether they had attempted to medicate their child the previous day.

Question 4

Results

Answer 4

• The use of the “Funhaler” was associated with improved parental and child compliance.
  
  • The random phone interviews indicated more parents were found to have medicated their children the previous day when using the Funhaler (22 out of 27), compared to their existing small volume spacer device, standard inhaler (16 out of 27).
• 30% more children took the recommended four or more cycles per aerosol delivery. (Funhaler 24 out of 30, standard/spacer inhaler 15 out of 30).
• Significantly more parents reported they were ‘always’ successful in medicating their child using the Funhaler (22 out of 30), compared to their existing device (3 out of 30)

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

Improved adherence, combined with satisfactory delivery characteristics, suggest that the Funhaler may be useful for management of young asthmatics.

The use of the Funhaler could possibly be translated to improve measures of clinical outcome.

The use of functional incentive device such as the Funhaler may improve the health of children.

More research is recommended in the long-term efficacy of this treatment

Question 6

Relation to Key Theme:

Answer 6

External influences on children’s behaviour

Question 7

WHO:

Answer 7

Chaney studied 32 children (22 males and 10 females), aged between 1.5-6 years old (average age was 3.2 years old) and had been diagnosed with asthma for on average 2.2 years.

Question 8

WHAT

Answer 8

They wanted to find out whether medial adherence can be increased with the use of positive reinforcement.

Question 9

HOW

Answer 9

Parents completed a questionnaire relating to how easy the standard device was to use, compliance of parents and children, and treatment. They were then asked to use the Funhaler instead of their normal inhaler, for two weeks and then completed another questionnaire the same as the first but relating to the use of the Funhaler. The researcher randomly contacted parents by phone (interview) and asked them whether they had attempted to medicate their child the previous day.

Question 10

FINDINGS

Answer 10

: The findings of this study suggest that children are more likely to take asthmatic medication if there is some form of reward involved e.g. a fun element (the funhaler).

Question 11

LINK

Answer 11

Therefore children’s behaviour, in this case adherence to medication, is linked to external influences such as positive reinforcement. This provides evidence for operant conditioning.

Question 12

Relation to Area:

Answer 12

Developmental Area

Question 13

ASSUMPTION

Answer 13

The Developmental area suggests that behaviour can be influenced by nurture- the environment (parenting) of children as they grow can impact their behaviour.

Question 14

AIM

Answer 14

They wanted to find out whether medial adherence can be increased with the use of positive reinforcement.

Question 15

FINDINGS

Answer 15

The findings of this study suggest that children are more likely to take asthmatic medication if there is some form of reward involved e.g. a fun element (the funhaler).

Question 16

LINK

Answer 16

This study suggests that positive reinforcement can be used to increase the use of asthmatic medication by children and thus the environment (nurture) can impact behaviour.

Question 17

Differences between Bandura and Chanye

Answer 17

Question 17

Differences between Bandura and Chanye

Answer 17

Question 18

Differences between Bandura and Chanye

Answer 18

Question 19

Full Procedure

Answer 19

Question 20

Ethical Consideration

Answer 20

P On ethical guideline that researchers should abide be is protection from harm.

E The British Psychology Society (BPS) sets the ethical (moral) guidelines that researchers should always try to abide by. Researchers should always try to avoid harming their participants emotionally, physically and psychologically.

E In Chaney the researcher ensured that all participants were protected by ensuring that the Funhaler did not cause a change in the amount of asthmatic medication administered.

Question 21

Validity - Strength

Answer 21

P A strength of the Chaney study is that it is high in internal validity.

E A number of controls have been put in place to ensure that extraneous variables do not impact the DV and therefore helping to ensure cause and effect can be established (suggesting the IV causes the DV)

E Chaney used a repeated measures design meaning that participants who were in the standard inhaler condition were also in the fun inhaler condition. This eliminates individual differences from having an impact on the DV e.g. the severity of the asthma being the reason for the differences in the taking of the medication rather than the change of the inhaler.

Question 22

Validity - Weakness

Answer 22

P A weakness of the Chaney study is that it can be said to be low in internal validity.

E Although a number of controls have been put in place not all extraneous variables have been controlled for and therefore they may not have been measuring the impact of the IV on the DV.

E In Chaney they used self-report to assess whether medication had been administered and the parents and childs attitudes towards the fun and standard inhaler, demand characteristics could have caused inaccurate results. The participants may report more positively of the fun inhaler as they believe this is what the researcher would like to hear.

Question 23

Reliability - Strength

Answer 23

P A strength of the Chaney study is that it is high in external reliability.

E The procedure was standardised meaning that a number of controls have been put in place to ensure that all participants had a similar experience. Therefore, another researcher should be able to repeat the study and receive the same results.

E In Chaney they used standardised questions when collecting data via interview and questionnaires regarding the adherence of asthmatic medication and attitudes towards the standard and Funhaler.

Question 24

Reliability - Weakness

Answer 24

P A weakness of the Chaney study is that it is low in external reliability.

E The procedure is not fully standardised and therefore there may have been differences between participants. This would make it vary hard to repeat the study exactly and gain the same results.

E In Chaney’s study participants were in the comfort of their own home and therefore may have had different routines and encouragement when it came to the taking of the medication and this could of changed between using the standard and fun inhaler.

Question 25

Data - Strength

Answer 25

P A strength of quantitative data is that it is high in reliability.

E Numeric data is objective in its analysis, this means that it will not be affected by the thoughts, opinions or experiences of the researcher and therefore another researcher can repeat the analysis and gain the same results.

E In the Chaney study the researcher simply counted how many participants gave each response to the closed questions asked in the telephone interviews regarding whether medication had been successfully given the previous day and the responses in the close question questionnaires.

Question 26

Data - Weakness

Answer 26

P A weakness of quantitative data is that it can be said to be low in internal validity

E As numeric data is limited in its detail it can often be unclear why the researchers got the results they did, as we are unable to see the full picture. Therefore, it can be hard to draw conclusions, as we cannot be sure that the IV causes the change in the DV.

E In Chaney we can see that the adherence to asthmatic medication increased when the fun inhaler was introduced but we cannot be sure that it was the positive reinforcement that caused this without qualitative data. For example the increase could have been caused by a change in the weather or increased exercise causing more symptoms and need to take the inhaler

Question 27

Method - Strength

Answer 27

P This study used a field experiment and therefore it is high in ecological validity.

E As participants remain in their natural environment for field experiments the behaviours they exhibit are more likely to reflect those found in a real life setting and therefore findings are more generalisable.

E In the Chaney study participants took both the standard and the fun inhaler in their own home as previously prescribed. This means that the taking of the medication and the impact of the positive reinforcement can be generalised to real life settings.

Question 28

Method - Weakness

Answer 28

P However, field experiments lack in control and therefore internal validity can be low.

E In field experiments participants are in their natural environment and therefore there is a lack of control over the environment. This may mean that extraneous variables, changes in the environment that are not meaning to be measured can impact the results.

E In Chaney participants administered the standard and Funhaler in their own homes and therefore it cannot be clear whether the increase in taking of the medication was due to the incorporation of positive reinforcement or whether an environmental factor such as a change in the weather, increased exercise caused the participants to take more medication.