On the Overuse and Misuse of Mediation Analysis: It May Be a Matter of Timing

Tate, Charlotte Ursula

doi:10.1080/01973533.2015.1062380

Cited by 153Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesMeta-analysis and systematic reviewsStatistical Methods and Bayesian Inference

On the Overuse and Misuse of Mediation Analysis: It May Be a Matter of Timing

Tate, Charlotte Ursula·2015·Basic and Applied Social Psychology

DOI 10.1080/01973533.2015.1062380

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Abstract

Kenny (2008) credited Hyman (1955 Hyman, H. (1955). Survey design and analysis: Principles, cases and procedures. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. [Google Scholar]) with originally discussing mediation analysis under the name elaboration. Of importance, Hyman's elaboration required a time-ordered relationship among variables, such that the mediator must always intervene in time between the predictor and outcome. However, in the modern discussions of mediation (e.g., Baron & Kenny, 1986 Baron, R., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Preacher & Hayes, 2004 Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 717–731. doi:10.3758/bf03206553[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]), this crucial point about time-ordered relationships appears to be underemphasized. This article shows that by employing a conceptual timing criterion for all mediation analyses, the overuse of this technique can be curbed, and, simultaneously, researchers will understand when mediation analyses are appropriate across the behavioral and medical science literatures.

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Post-test performance on untrained N-back preceded Matrix Reasoning by one day, satisfying temporal precedence for the mediator.
“Moreover, post-test performance on untrained N-back preceded performance on Matrix Reasoning by one day, hence satisfying the recommendation that the mediator must intervene between the predictor and the outcome37.”
From Near transfer to an unrelated N-back task mediates the effect of N-back working memory training on matrix reasoning (2022) · cites this paper as [37]

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Authors: Tate, C. U.
Affiliations: San Francisco State University (US)
Corresponding author: Tate, Charlotte Ursula
Venue: Basic and Applied Social Psychology
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2015-07-04
Volume: 37
Issue: 4
Pages: 235-246
ISSN: 0197-3533 (ISSN-L)
1532-4834
DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2015.1062380
OpenAlex: W1857078712
Cited by: 153
References: 32
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 1
FWCI: 11.90
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Basic and Applied Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
Keywords: mediation analysis, elaboration, indirect effects

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On the Overuse and Misuse of Mediation Analysis: It May Be a Matter of Timing

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