Chaney's Study Flashcards
What is the background to Chaney’s experiment?
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.
What concept of the behaviourist perspective does Chaney consider?
Operant Conditioning - which claims learning arises from consequences and reinforcement.
Define the term compliance?
It means using the inhaler correctly
To help children measure out the correct dosage of asthma medication which two spacer devices are used?
The AeroChamber
The Breath-a-Tec
What was the aim of the study?
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.
Explain how all asthma inhalers are negatively reinforcing?
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.
Describe how Chaney incorporated positive reinforcement in the funhaler
If the child used the correct breathing technique through it a whistle would sound and a disk would spin around
Name all the features of the FunHaler
- Face mask
- Valve Conduit
- Spacer
- Top ball/spinner
- Whistle
- PMDI ‘puffer’
Which research method did Chaney use?
Field experiment - the questionnaires/phone interviews were conducted in the children’s own home
What experimental design did Chaney use?
Repeated measures - The children used both the fun haler and the normal device
What was Chaney’s sample?
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
What sampling technique did Chaney use?
Opportunity sampling -
Recruited via 7 GP or paediatrician
Contacted by phone and visited at home
On average how long had the children suffered with asthma for?
- On average had suffered asthma for 2.2 years
What was the independent variable of Chaney’s study?
Whether child is using the Fun haler or the normal device
What was the dependent variable of Chaney’s study?
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
Describe Chaney’s procedure?
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.
What initial data was collected in Chaney’s study?
Questions about current inhaler
Measure current adherence
Current frequency of medication
Problems with medication
Attitudes towards medication
What data was collected during the 2 week study?
Parents given Fun haler to use with instructions
Parents were contacted randomly & asked if they had used the Fun haler the previous day
What final data was collected in Chaney’s study?
Questionnaire to measure adherence
How frequently the child was medicated
Parent and child attitudes to Fun haler
What was a behavioural finding in Chaney’s study?
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
What was a attitude finding in Chaney’s study?
61% of parents said they were completely happy with the funhaler spacer device whereas only 10% said this about their previous device
What conclusion did Chaney come to?
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
Evaluate the ethics of Chaney’s funhaler experiment?
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.
Evaluate the ethnocentrism of Chaney’s study
Only Australian participants so can’t generalise to other cultures worldwide as the toy was designed specifiically for Australians.
Evaluate the validity of Chaney’s study?
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.
Evaluate the reliability of Chaney’s study?
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.
How does this study relate to the developmental area?
Shows how children learn to acquire desired behaviours and how parents influence this using positive and negative reinforcement.
How does this study relate to the key theme of external influences?
Childs behaviour is adapted by rewards (positive reinforcement) which is an external influence
How does this study relate to the behaviourist perspective?
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
Evaluate how Chaney’s study links to the nature/nurture debate?
Nurture - operant conditioning uses reinforcement and reward to encourage behaviour
Nature - biological cause is asthma affected by steroids in the inhaler
Evaluate how Chaney’s study links to the freewill/determinism debate?
Freewill = “choice” as to whether to use funhaler or old inhaler
Environmental determinism = childs behaviour “determined” by rewards of whistle bell
Which two studies should you use to compare ‘external influences on behaviour’?
Bandura
Chaney
What is one similarity between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?
They both studied young children
- Bandura 72 nursery children 36 - 54 months
- Chaney 32 children between 1.5 -6 suffering with asthma
What is another similarity between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?
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
What is one difference between Bandura and Chaney’s studies?
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
How has Chaney’s study changed out understanding of the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?
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
How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of INDIVIDUAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?
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)
How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of SOCIAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?
It hasn’t changed our understanding
- Children in both studies are from the same age-group
- Both studies include both girls and boys
How has/hasn’t Chaney’s study changed out understanding of CULTURAL DIVERSITY within the key theme ‘external influences on children’s behaviour’?
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
