Chaney Et Al (contemporary study)

Question 1

Background to this study

Answer 1

operant conditioning (behaviour shown when rewarded and inhibited when punished) from behaviourist perspective
Could we use this to develop an inhaler that increases correct usage for Australian children because many use inhalers wrong?

Question 2

Aim of this study

Answer 2

Find out if the principle of reinforcement within operant conditioning can increase health behaviours in children (using an asthma inhaler correctly)

Question 3

Design of the funhaler

Answer 3

If breathing is correct, whistle sound will play and a spinning toy with picture which acts as positive reinforcement. And mouthpiece because used for children
(All inhalers inc funhaler have negative reinforcement, taking away a bad thing (pain))

Question 4

Type of experiment is this?

Answer 4

A field experiment because there was an independent variable (using the funhaler) and took place in the participants natural setting - their family’s home and every day life, just using the funhaler when they needed to

Question 5

Experimental design and why?

Answer 5

Repeated measures design because each participant had used the aero chamber Inhaler and funhaler and their responses were compared so they experienced all conditions

Question 6

Sample

Answer 6

32 Children

Question 7

Age of sample

Answer 7

1,5 years old - 6 years old

Question 8

Gender of sample

Answer 8

22 boys
10 girls

Question 9

Sample method

Answer 9

Opportunity sample by recruiting these families from 7 GP clinics across Perth

Question 10

How were participants contacted?

Answer 10

Parents were called on the phone then visited at their home

Question 11

How was data collected on the current inhaler they were using?

Answer 11

In the form of a questionnaire (self report) along with a consent form

Question 12

How were the funhalers administered?

Answer 12

During the home visit, parents were given the funhaler and told to use it for the next 2 weeks

Question 13

Longitudinal or snapshot?

Answer 13

Longitudinal because each participant was followed up after 2 weeks to collect the data, to measure the differences in medical adherence to the funhaler over this period of time

Question 14

What happened at the end of the 2 weeks?

Answer 14

They completed a second identical questionnaire about use of funhaler instead of

Question 15

Content of the questionnaires

Answer 15

Adherence to the inhaler in question
Children’s attitudes to inhaler observed by parents
Parents attitudes
Frequency of use

Question 16

Type and level of data collected

Answer 16

Quantitative data in form of percentages
Nominal as this is a headcount in each category of data rather than an order/scale (eg these parents simply reported dislike rather than a scale of that dislike)

Question 17

Percentage of children who screamed when normal inhaler was bought to face

Answer 17

48%

Question 18

Percentage of children who screamed when funhaler was bought to face

Answer 18

3%

Question 19

% Usage of normal inhaler the day before

Answer 19

59%

Question 20

% usage of funhaler the day before

Answer 20

81%

Question 21

What happened at random within these 2 weeks?

Answer 21

The parents were called again at random and asked if they had used the funhaler the day before

Question 22

Conclusions from the data

Answer 22

The funhaler led to the correct use of asthma medication due to its design
And led to an increase in attitudes to the funhaler by both parent and child

Question 23

Strengths of repeated measures design

Answer 23

Controlled for participant variables such as frequency of inhaler usage and dislike for inhaler: data was collected and compared against the same child so the funhaler is the cause for these differences and not P variables

Question 24

Weaknesses of repeated measures design

Answer 24

Parents will recognise aim of study as it is very obvious to see they want to know the differences when using funhaler (demand characteristics, say they like funhaler more in questionnaire to help researcher out?)

Question 25

Could counterbalancing be used?

Answer 25

No because if the children used funhaler first then standard inhaler they may not want to go back to the standard inhaler or the medical compliance could be increased due to practise

Question 26

Strengths of opportunity sample

Answer 26

High population validity because the children were recruited from a large span of different socioeconomic backgrounds/ locations
Mix of genders
Narrow age range because we are measuring medical compliance in this age range to represent in the sample

Question 27

Weaknesses of sample

Answer 27

Being from Australia, doesn’t account for how children of other cultures respond to funhaler or positive reinforcement
Gender imbalance

Question 28

Strengths of quantitative data

Answer 28

Easy way of comparing attitudes across each inhaler

Question 29

Weaknesses of quantitative data collected

Answer 29

No explanation on why parents were happier with funhaler/ children liked funhaler more through use of funhaler in order to inform later research

Question 30

Strengths of using field experiment

Answer 30

Higher ecological validity because the child was in their home environment so a measure of their natural behaviour to using the inhaler as if they weren’t in a study: reflective of irl

Question 31

Weaknesses of a field experiment

Answer 31

Extraneous variables not accounted for because less controls: not sure how much each parent persevered to use the inhaler, or if at any time the inhaler was forgotten or be used.
Not completely standardised procedure for all participants

Question 32

Strengths of Reliability in this study

Answer 32

Standardised for all participants eg same questionnaire , same instructions , same funhaler design , same 2 week period

Question 33

Weaknesses of reliability in this study

Answer 33

Small sample size of only 32 children: not enough to measure a consistent effect probably

Question 34

Strengths of self report

Answer 34

The only way to find attitudes to usage of funhaler of both parents and child as these cannot be observed
Efficient way to collect data

Question 35

Weaknesses of self report

Answer 35

Social desirability for parents or tendency to lie/not give accurate data in order to seem like better parents, say they medicate their child more than they do

Question 36

How does this link to theme of external influences on children’s behaviour?

Answer 36

Using operant conditioning (positive reinforcement of a toy and whistle in the funhaler when used correctly) changed children’s medical compliance behaviour: increased medication for it
Children learn through reinforcement (rewards) which are interactions with the environment