Chaney's Study

Question 1

What is the background to Chaney’s experiment?

Answer 1

In Australia 1 in 4 children suffered from asthma causing hospital admission and school absenteeism.
To help encourage children to use the inhaler and correctly to reduce unnecessary health risk.

Question 2

What concept of the behaviourist perspective does Chaney consider?

Answer 2

Operant Conditioning - which claims learning arises from consequences and reinforcement.

Question 3

Define the term compliance?

Answer 3

It means using the inhaler correctly

Question 4

To help children measure out the correct dosage of asthma medication which two spacer devices are used?

Answer 4

The AeroChamber
The Breath-a-Tec

Question 5

What was the aim of the study?

Answer 5

The aim of this study is to see if the use of the Funhaler (an inhaler with added rewards for children) increases compliance rates in children.

To see if the quality of use (the correct technique used) is improved with the Funhaler.

Question 6

Explain how all asthma inhalers are negatively reinforcing?

Answer 6

They are used repeatedly because they get rid of unpleasant symptoms such as shortness of breath

• Reduces anxiety and stress caused by asthmatic symptoms.
• Children and parents know when it is being used correctly because of whistle/spinning toy and so correct use leads to fewer symptoms.

Question 7

Describe how Chaney incorporated positive reinforcement in the funhaler

Answer 7

If the child used the correct breathing technique through it a whistle would sound and a disk would spin around

Question 8

Name all the features of the FunHaler

Answer 8

• Face mask
• Valve Conduit
• Spacer
• Top ball/spinner
• Whistle
• PMDI ‘puffer’

Question 9

Which research method did Chaney use?

Answer 9

Field experiment - the questionnaires/phone interviews were conducted in the children’s own home

Question 10

What experimental design did Chaney use?

Answer 10

Repeated measures - The children used both the fun haler and the normal device

Question 11

What was Chaney’s sample?

Answer 11

32 children from Australia (22 boys and 10 girls)
- Aged 1.5 to 6 years
- Recruited from 7 GP/Paediatric clinics within 51km radius of Perth - spanning different socio-economic and geographical areas

Question 12

What sampling technique did Chaney use?

Answer 12

Opportunity sampling -
Recruited via 7 GP or paediatrician
Contacted by phone and visited at home

Question 13

On average how long had the children suffered with asthma for?

Answer 13

• On average had suffered asthma for 2.2 years

Question 14

What was the independent variable of Chaney’s study?

Answer 14

Whether child is using the Fun haler or the normal device

Question 15

What was the dependent variable of Chaney’s study?

Answer 15

The children’s behaviour – how FREQUENTLY children took the medication also any PROBLEMS the children had with delivery of medication
ATTITUDES of the parents and the adherence towards medication

Question 16

Describe Chaney’s procedure?

Answer 16

Parents were contacted by phone before being visited at home - provided informed consent before they filled in the questionnaire that their child current inhaler spacer device (either AeroChamber or breath-a-tec)
Parents were given a funhaler to use with the child for two weeks
After two weeks, parents were contacted again, given another questionnaire, this time asking them about the funhaler, spacer device.

Question 17

What initial data was collected in Chaney’s study?

Answer 17

Questions about current inhaler

Measure current adherence

Current frequency of medication

Problems with medication

Attitudes towards medication

Question 18

What data was collected during the 2 week study?

Answer 18

Parents given Fun haler to use with instructions

Parents were contacted randomly & asked if they had used the Fun haler the previous day

Question 19

What final data was collected in Chaney’s study?

Answer 19

Questionnaire to measure adherence

How frequently the child was medicated

Parent and child attitudes to Fun haler

Question 20

What was a behavioural finding in Chaney’s study?

Answer 20

Previously 50% of children had achieved the desired 4 or more breath cycles with their normal spacer device
80% of children achieved this with the Funhaler

Question 21

What was a attitude finding in Chaney’s study?

Answer 21

61% of parents said they were completely happy with the funhaler spacer device whereas only 10% said this about their previous device

Question 22

What conclusion did Chaney come to?

Answer 22

The fun haler lead to an increase in use and it
was more likely to be used correctly plus it was more accepted by parent

Question 23

Evaluate the ethics of Chaney’s funhaler experiment?

Answer 23

Gained informed consent
Researchers were competent
We can assume there was a debrief
No harm was likely to be caused

Repeated measures design allowed no children to miss out on the beneficial effects of the funhaler.

Question 24

Evaluate the ethnocentrism of Chaney’s study

Answer 24

Only Australian participants so can’t generalise to other cultures worldwide as the toy was designed specifiically for Australians.

Question 25

Evaluate the validity of Chaney’s study?

Answer 25

The self-report questionnaires may have lead to demand characteristics via social desirability as parent lie
The use of a field experiment at children’s own homes improves the ecological validity of the scenario yet more extraneous variables to contend with such as individual differences with parent attitudes.

Question 26

Evaluate the reliability of Chaney’s study?

Answer 26

Many aspects of the research was standardised aiding replicability (questionnaires same for all participants, length of time with funhaler)
Only 32 children in sample not large enough to establish a consistent effect.

Question 27

How does this study relate to the developmental area?

Answer 27

Shows how children learn to acquire desired behaviours and how parents influence this using positive and negative reinforcement.

Question 28

How does this study relate to the key theme of external influences?

Answer 28

Childs behaviour is adapted by rewards (positive reinforcement) which is an external influence

Question 29

How does this study relate to the behaviourist perspective?

Answer 29

Operant conditioning - suggests behaviour is a result od learning from positive reinforcement and consequence

Classical conditioning - learn through associations children could come to associate inhaler with unpleasant experience

Question 30

Evaluate how Chaney’s study links to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 30

Nurture - operant conditioning uses reinforcement and reward to encourage behaviour
Nature - biological cause is asthma affected by steroids in the inhaler

Question 31

Evaluate how Chaney’s study links to the freewill/determinism debate?

Answer 31

Freewill = “choice” as to whether to use funhaler or old inhaler
Environmental determinism = childs behaviour “determined” by rewards of whistle bell

Question 32

Which two studies should you use to compare ‘external influences on behaviour’?

Answer 32

Bandura
Chaney

Question 33

What is one similarity between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?

Answer 33

They both studied young children
- Bandura 72 nursery children 36 - 54 months
- Chaney 32 children between 1.5 -6 suffering with asthma

Question 34

What is another similarity between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?

Answer 34

Both use the ‘nurture’ side of the debate
- Bandura uses the social learning theory to suggest we learn through observation and imitation of an environment
- Chaney uses operant conditioning to suggest we learn through reward and consequences in the environment

Question 35

What is one difference between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?

Answer 35

Data Collection
- Bandura used observation in a lab experiment
- Chaney used self-report/questionnaires in a field experiment

Experimental Designs
- Bandura used a matched pair design
- Chaney used a repeated measures design

Question 36

How has Chaney’s study changed out understanding of the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?

Answer 36

It has shown us that the behaviour of children can be changed by reinforcement rather than buy just observation and imitation of role models

Hasn’t changed out understanding - both studies still tell us about young children

Question 37

How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of INDIVIDUAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?

Answer 37

It hasn’t changed our understanding
- Neither study explores the reasons for any individual differences in behaviour between children (in how they behaved in the study)

Question 38

How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of SOCIAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?

Answer 38

It hasn’t changed our understanding
- Children in both studies are from the same age-group
- Both studies include both girls and boys

Question 39

How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of CULTURAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?

Answer 39

It HAS
- Bandura’s study was completed in the US whereas Chaney’s was carried out in Australia

It HASN’T
- Both studies were carried out in economically developed Western Cultures