A-level psychology: Chaney's study

Asthma- developmental area

what was the aim of Chaney's study?

to see if the funhaler device can provide a positive reinforcement which leads to improved adherence in young asthmatics

what is adherence?

following instructions

what is operant conditioning?

learning by consequence

what method was used in the study?

field experiment, home setting

where did the study take place?

Australia, in the homes of the participants

what year did the study take place?

2004

what sample did chaney use?

32 children aged 1.5 to 6 years old, 22 boys and 10 girls.

the children already had an average duration of asthma for 2.2 years

what experimental design was used?

repeated measure design

what were the IVs and DVs in the study?

IV - whether the child used a standard spacer device or the funhaler

DV- the children's adherence and attitudes towards the funhaler

What was the proceedure?

participants were approached by the researcher in their own homes, the funhaler was not mentioned and the parents were given a questionnaire about their current use of an inhaler.

they were then given the funhaler for 2 weeks and they had to report over the phone on a random basis about their use.

matched questionnaires were completed by the parents after the use of the funhaler, during the study each parent was called randomly to find out if they had medicated their child the day before.

what were the findings collected at the end of the study?

68% of children found pleasure in using the funhaler

10% of children found pleasure in using the standard spacer

61% of parents felt happy medicating their child using the funhaler

what were the findings collected on the previous day?

16/27 parents reported medicating their child the previous day using the standard spacer

22/27 parents reported medicating their child the previous day using the funhaler

what are the strengths of Chaney’s study?

high in ecological validity- the task given to the children was close to real as it was done in their homes

good internal validity- clear variables which were measured well

what are the weaknesses of Chaney’s study?

poor generalisability- the sample cannot be generalised to a wider population as it only consists of Australian children

demand characteristics- parents could have increased adherence if they had forgotten to give their children medication in order to not seem like bad parents

what debates can be used for Chaney’s study?

nature vs nurture - nurture debate can be used to argue that behaviour is shaped by external factors such as the funhaler improving adherence

nature- can be argued that children are more compliant or resistant to the funhaler highlighting individual differences

individual vs situational- highlights individual differences in response how the child responded to the funhaler

what are the ethical issues for Chaney’s study?

informed consent- study focused on children and they are not able to provide consent themselves