Chaney et al (2004)

Question 1

in Australia how many children have asthma

Answer 1

1 in 4

Question 2

what devices are generally used to measure correct dosage of asthma medication in Australia

Answer 2

Aerochamber and Breath-a-tech

Question 3

what type of operant conditioning do asthma inhalers promote and why

Answer 3

negative reinforcement (remove unpleasant symptoms of asthma)

Question 4

how did Chaney et al use positive reinforcement to promote the use of asthma medication in children

Answer 4

created a Funhaler, a whistle would sound and a disk would spin around when a child exhaled a good steady breath

Question 5

name the sampling method, research technique and experimental design used in this study

Answer 5

opportunity sampling, field experiment, repeated measures

Question 6

describe the sample used in this study

Answer 6

• 32 children from Perth, Western Australia
• 22 boys, 10 girls
• ages 1(1/2)-6

Question 7

how were the participants recruited in this study

Answer 7

recruited from seven paediatric or GP clinics within a 51km radius of perth (all different socioeconomic backgrounds and geographic areas)

Question 8

describe the first step of the procedure in this study

Answer 8

• parents contacted by phone via their GP or paediatrician , then visited at home
• written, informed consent obtained from parents before filling in a questionnaire about their child’s current inhaler spacer device
• not aware of funhaler at this point

Question 9

describe the second step of the procedure in this study

Answer 9

• parents given a funhaler to use with their child for two weeks
• parents contacted at random times and asked if their child had correctly used the funhaler the previous day

Question 10

describe the third step of the procedure in this study

Answer 10

• after 2 weeks parents contacted and given another questionnaire to complete
• this one asked about the funhaler device

Question 11

describe the results in terms of children achieving the desired delivery of asthma medication (behaviour)

Answer 11

before: 50% of children had achieved the desired delivery with previous asthma inhaler spacer device
after: 80% of children achieved the desired delivery with funhaler spacer device

Question 12

what is the desired delivery for asthma medication

Answer 12

four or more breath cycles per delivery

Question 13

describe the results in terms of dislike towards inhaler spacer device (attitude)

Answer 13

before: 16% dislike towards regular inhaler spacer device
after: 0% dislike towards funhaler spacer device

Question 14

describe the results in terms of use of the inhaler the day before

Answer 14

before: 59% of parents claimed their child used inhaler the day before
after: 81% of parents claimed their child used the inhaler the day before

Question 15

describe the results in terms of attitudes towards inhaler spacer device

Answer 15

before: 10% of parents said they liked their childs inhaler spacer device
after: 61% of parents said they liked the funhaler spacer device

Question 16

what is more important, results in terms of behaviour or attitude

Answer 16

• attitude
• it is a greater predictor than a change in behaviour as it means participants will continue using the funhaler spacer device after the study (will have a greater long-term effect)

Question 17

describe the overall conclusions of this study

Answer 17

the funhaler led to an increased use and correct use of the inhaler with four or more breaths per cycle. parents were less likely to give up and resort to nebuliser after using funhalers

Question 18

evaluate this study in terms of the nature-nurture debate

Answer 18

• nature (asthma is innate)
• nurture (based on upbringing, having parents that encourage the use of the funhaler)
  this study is on the side of nurture

Question 19

evaluate the study in terms of the freewill-determinism debate

Answer 19

• freewill (some parents or kids may have chosen not to administer the funhaler)
• determinism (you can’t control having access to the funhaler, how parent feel about the funhaler, what parents decide to do regarding the funhaler and the severity of asthma)
  this study is on the side of determinism

Question 20

evaluate the study in terms of the reductionism-holism debate

Answer 20

-reductionism (use of the funhaler increases use of inhaler correctly)
- holism (behaviour and attitudes and how they interact with each other determines the use of the funhaler)
this study is on the side of reductionism

Question 21

evaluate this study in terms of its social sensitivity

Answer 21

• not (has practical real-life uses, can be given to kids to improve their health and quality of life)
• is (parents may be embarrassed if their kid has asthma but doesn’t have a funhaler, could be seen as worse than other parents)

Question 22

how does this study relate to the behaviourist perspective

Answer 22

it explains how children are learning behaviours through operant conditioning (eg positive reinforcement)

Question 23

how does this study relate to the theme of ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’

Answer 23

the external influence (the funhaler) is encouraging the children to use their inhaler correctly (changing their medical compliance)

Question 24

how does this study relate to the developmental area

Answer 24

it shows how children’s behaviour can change due to experience of using the funhaler

Question 25

name the similarities between Bandura and Chaney et al

Answer 25

• both studied young children
• both sit on the ‘nurture’ side of the debate

Question 26

describe how Bandura and Chaney et al both study young children

Answer 26

bandura et al: studied children aged 37-69 months old from stanford university nursery
chaney et al: studied children 1.5-6 years old suffering from asthma, around Perth in Western Australia

Question 27

describe how Bandura et al and Chaney et al both sit on the ‘nurture’ side of the debate

Answer 27

bandura et al: experience of watching an aggressive model can make children imitate these actions- behaviour is learnt from the environment
chaney et al: experience of using a funhaler changed childrens compliance towards asthma medication

Question 28

name the differences between bandura et al and chaney et al

Answer 28

• differences in how they collected data
• differences in their experimental design used

Question 29

describe how bandura et al and chaney et al collected data differently

Answer 29

bandura et al: collected data using observation (20min in stage 3 through a one-way mirror)
chaney et al: collected data through self-report (questionnaires about behaviours and attitudes towards the previous inhaler spacer device and funhaler spacer device)

Question 30

describe how bandura et al and chaney et al have different experimental designs

Answer 30

bandura et al: used matched participants design (pre-testing children on a 5 point scale of aggression)
chaney et al: used repeated measures (same participants given questionnaires about use of regular inhaler spacer device and then one on the funhaler two weeks later)

Question 31

how has Chaney’s study changed our idea on the key theme of ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’

Answer 31

shown us that the behaviour of children can be changed by reinforcement rather than just by observing and imitating role models

Question 32

how hasn’t Chaney’s study changed our idea on the key theme of ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’

Answer 32

both studies still only telling us about young children

Question 33

how hasn’t Chaney and banduras studies changed our idea on our understanding of individual diversity

Answer 33

doesn’t explore the reasons for individual differences in behaviour between children (in terms of how they behaved in the study)

Question 34

how hasn’t Chaney and banduras studies changed our idea on our understanding of social diversity

Answer 34

the children in the studies are from the same age group, both include boys and girls

Question 35

how hasn’t Chaney and banduras studies changed our idea on our understanding of cultural diversity

Answer 35

both carried out in economically developed ‘western’ cultures

Question 36

how has Chaney’s study changed our idea on our understanding of cultural diversity

Answer 36

Chaney’s studied was carried out in Australia and not the USA like Banduras