Core Studies - Developmental Psychology - Chaney’s Study Flashcards
What is operant conditioning
Learning through consequences and rewards
What is positive reinforcement
When a motivating or rewarding stimulus is given to someone when they carry out a desired behaviour, they will repeat this behaviour in future as they associate it with a reward
What is negative reinforcement
Removal of an unwanted stimulus which results in a ‘rewarding’ feeling for the person. Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience
What is punishment
When undesirable behaviour is performed, punishment is given in order to reinforce that this behaviour is wrong and therefore not repeated again
What are the practical medical applications for operant conditioning
- One major issue health practitioners have had to deal with is poor adherence to medical regimes especially with the use of inhalers
- Irregular treatment and poor inhalation technique when using inhalers are linked to more hospitalisations and increased morbidity
- Chaney therefore suggested that one way to improve adherence to medical regimes in asthmatic children is to introduce a positive reinforcement within the inhalers
Aim
To test whether the ‘Funhaler’ could provide positive reinforcement to improve adherence in child asthmatics compared to normal inhalers
Research method
Field experiment
Where was the study conducted
In the p’s home settings in Perth, Australia
Experimental design
Repeated measures design and a self report method was also used
Independent variables
The use of a standard volume spacer device vs the ‘Funhaler’
Dependant variable
The amount of adherence to the prescribed medical regime
Sample
- 32 children
- 22 male and 10 female
- From Perth Australia
- All had asthma for on average 2 years
- All asthmatics
What is the Funhaler
- An inhaler that with a spinner and a whistle which encourages the child to breathe deeply as the spinner would spin and the whistle would make a noise when deep breaths are produced
- Whistle and spinner are in a separate branch to the standard inhalation circuit which avoids problems of contamination and interference of drug delivery
What is part 1 of the procedure
The parents of the children with asthma were contacted by phone and then visited at home to be told about the study and to give informed consent
What is part 2 of the procedure
The parents were then interviewed using a questionnaire and asked about their child’s attitudes and compliance to their normal inhaler but were not shown the Funhaler at this stage
What is part 3 of the procedure
Parents were then given the Funhaler to use over a to week period instead of their normal inhaler
What is part 4 of the procedure
They were told it must be used under adult supervision
What is part 5 of the procedure
Over the 2 weeks, usage was recorded using phone calls at random in which they were asked if their child had used the Funhaler the previous day
What was part 6 of the procedure
Parents were then visited at the end of the 2 week period and asked about their attitudes and compliance towards the Funhaler
Procedure
- The parents of the children with asthma were contacted by phone and then visited at home to be told about the study and to give informed consent
- The parents were then interviewed using a questionnaire and asked about their child’s attitudes and compliance to their normal inhaler but were not shown the Funhaler at this stage
- Parents were then given the Funhaler to use over a to week period instead of their normal inhaler
- They were told it must be used under adult supervision
- Over the 2 weeks, usage was recorded using phone calls at random in which they were asked if their child had used the Funhaler the previous day
- Parents were then visited at the end of the 2 week period and asked about their attitudes and compliance towards the Funhaler
Results
- The use of the Funhaler was associated with improved parental and child compliance
- 81% of parents were found to have medicated their child the previous day when using the Funhaler compared to their existing inhaler (59%)
- 30% more children took the recommended four or more deep breaths per aerosol delivery when using the Funhaler compared with the standard inhaler
Conclusion 1
- Operant condition through the use of the ‘Funhaler’ is useful for managing the medical regimes of young asthmatics as it encourages young children and parents to adhere to the treatment through the use of the incentive toy (whistle and spinner). This is because as the child breathes in deeply they re rewarded with the whistle being blown and a toy being spun which encourages them to repeat the breathing process
Conclusion 2
The use of self-reinforced strategies can improve the overall health of children
Key finding
30% more children took the recommended four or more deep breaths per aerosol delivery when using the Funhaler compared with the standard inhaler
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