Chaney (2004) Flashcards
(Chaney) Describe the background behind the study.
Asthma is a chronic condition that affects about 1 in 10 people. Children tend to not use their inhalers correctly in order to treat their asthma.
(Chaney) What was the aim of the study?
To see if operant conditioning could be used to encourage children to want to use their inhalers, and when they do; use it correctly.
(Chaney) Define the term ‘operant conditioning’.
Changing the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again through reinforcement and punishment.
(Chaney) Define the term ‘positive reinforcement’.
Encouraging a behaviour happening again by adding a reward.
(Chaney) Define the term ‘negative reinforcement’.
Encouraging a behaviour happening again by removing an unpleasant stimulus.
(Chaney) How is the ‘Funhaler’ representative of positive reinforcement?
The inhaler added a reward of the spinner and the whistle.
(Chaney) How is the ‘Funhaler’ representative of negative reinforcement?
The inhaler took away the asthma symptoms.
(Chaney) Describe the sample in this study.
32 children from Australia (22 boys and 10 girls).
Aged 1.5 - 6 years.
They were recruited from seven paediatric?GP clinics within a 51km radius of Perth, Western Australia. The clinics spanned differing socio-economic and geographical areas.
(Chaney) Describe Step 1 of the procedure for this study.
Parents were contacted by phone before being visited at home.
Written, informed consent was obtained from parents before they filled in a questionnaire about their child’s current inhaler spacer device (either Aerochamber or Breath-a-Tech).
(Chaney) Describe Step 2 of the procedure for this study.
Parents were given a Funhaler to use with their child for 2 weeks.
(Chaney) Describe Step 3 of the procedure for this study.
After the 2 weeks, parents were contacted again and given another questionnaire to fill in (asking about the Funhaler).
(Chaney) Regarding the findings of this study, describe how behaviour was affected by the Funhaler (before and after).
50% of children had achieved the desire 4+ breath cycles per delivery with their previous asthma inhaler.
80% of children achieved this with the Funhaler spacer device.
(Chaney) Regarding the findings of this study, describe how attitudes were affected by the Funhaler (before and after).
10% of parents had said they were completely happy with their child’s previous asthma inhaler spacer device.
61% of parents said this about the Funhaler spacer device.
(Chaney) How does this study relate to the nature vs nurture debate?
This study is on the
nurture side of the
debate as the children’s behaviour changed as a result of the new Funhaler.
(Chaney) How does this study relate to the freewill vs determinism debate?
This study is on the
deterministic side of the debate as the children’s asthma usage is determined by what inhaler they have at the time.
(Chaney) How does this study relate to the behaviourist perspective?
This study explains how children are
learning behaviours due to operant conditioning.
(Chaney) How does this study relate to the key theme of the study?
The study explains how the funhaler (an external influence) is changing their medical compliance).
(Chaney) How does this study relate to the developmental area?
This study is showing how children’s behaviour can change due to the experience of using a Funhaler.
(Chaney) Identify and explain the two areas of similarities between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?
Sample: Both studied young children.
Nurture: Both sit on the nurture side of the
nature vs nurture debate
(Chaney) Explain how Bandura and Chaney are similar regarding sample?
Bandura: Studied children aged 37-69 months from Stanford University Nursery.
Chaney: Studied children 1.5-6 years old suffering from asthma from around Perth, Australia.
(Chaney) Explain how Bandura and Chaney are similar regarding nurture?
Bandura: Explains how the experience of watching an aggressive model made children imitate those actions.
Chaney: Explains how the experience of using a Funhaler changed the compliance of children towards their asthma medication.
(Chaney) Identify and explain two areas of differences between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?
Data: The way they
collected data.
Design: The experimental design they used.
(Chaney) Explain how Bandura and Chaney are different regarding data?
Bandura: Collected data using observation through a one way mirror for 20 minutes in stage 3.
Chaney: Collected data through self report questionnaires about the behaviours and attitudes towards the inhaler.
(Chaney) Explain how Bandura and Chaney are different regarding design?
Bandura: Used matched participants by pre-testing the children on 4x5 point scales of aggression.
Chaney: Used repeated measures by giving parents questionnaires about their regular inhaler and then again after using the Funhaler for 2 weeks.
(Chaney) What has the key theme shown us?
It has shown us that the behaviour of children can be changed by reinforcement
(rather than just by observing and imitating role models).
(Chaney) What hasn’t the key theme shown us?
Both studies are still telling us about young children.
