Chapter 20 (Mediation and Moderation) Test Bank

Multiple choice

1. A researcher is examining the relationship between science and mathematics performance. The researcher believes that there may be an indirect effect of science on mathematics through literacy. Which of the following types of models would you recommend the researcher examine?

a. Mediation b. Moderation c. Neither d. Both

ANSWER: A a. Mediation b. Moderation c. Neither d. Both ANSWER: A a. Mediation b. Moderation c. Neither d. Both

2. A researcher is examining the relationship between weight and blood pressure. The researcher believes that there may be an indirect effect of weight and blood pressure through stress. Which of the following types of models would you recommend the researcher examine?

3. A researcher is examining the relationship between science and mathematics performance. The researcher believes that science may interact with literacy. Which of the following types of models would you recommend the researcher examine?

ANSWER: B a. Mediation b. Moderation c. Neither d. Both

4. A researcher is examining the relationship between time on task and academic performance. The researcher believes that time on task may interact with age. Which of the following types of models would you recommend the researcher examine?

ANSWER: B a. Small b. Moderate c. Large d. None of the above

5. A researcher has conducted a moderated multiple regression analysis and finds f2 of .03. Based on Cohen's guidelines, what is the interpretation of the effect?

ANSWER: A a. Small b. Moderate c. Large d. None of the above

6. A researcher has conducted a moderated multiple regression analysis and finds f2 of .16. Based on Cohen's guidelines, what is the interpretation of the effect?

ANSWER: B a. Expected frequencies b. Homoscedasticity c. Linearity d. Normality

7. Which of the following is NOT an assumption for moderated multiple regression?

ANSWER: A a. Interactions cannot be proved with this approach. b. Regions of significance cannot be determined with this approach. c. This approach can be used only with continuous moderating variables. d. Violations of homogeneity of regression cannot be handled with this approach

8. What is one of the challenges with the Johnson-Neyman approach for probing an interaction?

ANSWER: C a. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be higher on Y. b. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be lower on Y. c. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be the same as Y. d. Impossible to determine with this information.

9. In a mediation model, a positive sign for the direct effect indicates which of the following?

ANSWER: A a. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be higher on Y. b. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be lower on Y. c. One unit higher on Xis estimated to be the same as Y. d. Impossible to determine with this information.

10. In a mediation model, a negative sign for the direct effect indicates which of the following?

ANSWER: B a. The dependent variable influences the mediating variable, which then influences the independent variable. b. The independent variable influences the mediating variable, which then influences the dependent variable. c. The independent variable influences the dependent variable, which then influences the mediating variable. d. The mediating variable simultaneously influences the independent and dependent variable.

11. Which of the following represents an indirect effect in a simple mediation model?

ANSWER: B a. How much two cases that differ by one unit on the dependent variable will differ on the independent variable. b. How much two cases that differ by one unit on the independent variable will differ on the mediator. c. How much two cases that differ by one unit on the independent variable will differ on the dependent variable. d. Two cases that differ by one unit on the mediator but are equal on the independent variable will differ by bunits on the dependent variable.

12. Which of the following is an interpretation of the direct effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable?

ANSWER: B a. True b. False

13. True or false? In a moderation model where Xis the independent variable and Wis the moderating variable, the inclusion of the interaction term (XW) is testing the effect of X on the dependent variable is conditional on W.

ANSWER: A a. Graphical methods b. Johnson-Neyman technique c. Pick-a-point approach d. All of the above e. None of the above

14. Which one of the following is not a way to examine an interaction?

ANSWER: D a. The relationship between the independent and dependent variable will completely disappear b. The relationship between the independent and dependent variable becomes stronger

15. Which of the following will be evident in a full mediation model?

ANSWER: A a. Measurement error b. Sample size c. The variance of the predictor is smaller in the population. d. All of the above e. None of the above

16. Which of the following may impact power in moderated multiple regression?

ANSWER: D

17. The underlying framework for mediation is to understand which one of the following: a. How the mediator relates to the moderator. b. The way in which the independent variable relates to the dependent variable. c. Which independent variable is related to the dependent variable. d. Which dependent variable produces statistically significant results.

ANSWER: B a. a b. b c. ��′ d. e

18. The direct effect in a simple mediation model is denoted by which one of the following?

ANSWER: C a. The dependent variable controlling for the moderating variable b. The product of the dependent variable and independent variable c. The product of the independent variable and moderating variable d. The sum of the regression coefficients

19. In a moderated regression model, the interaction term reflects which one of the following?

ANSWER: C a. The difference in Xfor two cases that differ by one on Wbut differ by zero on ���� ′ b. The difference in Wfor two cases that differ by one on Xbut differ by zero on ���� ′ c. The difference in ���� ′ for two cases that differ by one on Wbut differ by zero on X d. The difference in ���� ′ for two cases that differ by one on Xbut differ by zero on W

20. The conditional effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable when the moderating variable is zero is interpreted in which one of the following ways?

ANSWER: D a. X b. XY c. W d. WY e. XW

21. Testing that the effect of the independent variable (X)on the dependent variable (Y)is dependent on the moderating variable (W)is conducted by including which term in the moderation model?

ANSWER: E a. Graph of the interaction b. Probe for an interaction c. Test for an interaction d. Visualization of the XYrelationship

22. Which one of the following is needed to determine whether the relationship between the independent and dependent variables systematically varies as a function of the moderator?

ANSWER: C a. Kappa squared b. Partially standardized total effect c. Ratio of the indirect effect to the direct effect d. The proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is explained by the indirect effect

23. Which one of the following is NOT an effect size that is recommended to avoid in reporting mediation results?

ANSWER: B a. Binary logistic regression b. Multinomial logistic regression c. Multiple linear regression d. Simple linear regression

24. The assumptions for moderation are the same as which of the following procedures?

ANSWER: C a. Binary logistic regression b. Multinomial logistic regression c. Multiple linear regression d. Simple linear regression

25. The assumptions for mediation are the same as which of the following procedures?

ANSWER: C a. The effect of the dependent variable on the moderating variable can be predicted by the independent variable. b. The effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable can be predicted by the moderating variable. c. The interaction of the independent and dependent variables can be predicted by the moderating variable. d. The moderating variable can be predicted by the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

26. Moderation occurs in which of the following situations?

ANSWER: B a. Exponentiation of the regression coefficient b. Interactions in factorial ANOVA c. Random effects with a completely crossed design d. Repeated measures within persons

27. Which one of the following represents moderation?

ANSWER: B a. Some relationship between Xand Yremains, and that relationship becomes stronger. b. Some relationship between Xand Yremains, but that relationship is smaller in magnitude. c. The relationship between Xand Ycompletely disappears. d. The relationship between Xand Yexponentiates.

28. Which one of the following reflects partial mediation?

ANSWER: B

Chapter 20 (Mediation and Moderation)

Test Bank

Short answer

1. A researcher conducts a simple mediated regression to determine the extent to which reading performance mediates the relationship between time spent on homework and science performance. The researcher finds the following results. Indicate what type of mediation it is (full or partial) and interpret the coefficients for X and M.

ANSWER:

Reading fully mediates the relationship between homework and science performance. This is shown as the observed probability for homework is not statistically significant (p = .9752) but is statistically significant for reading (p < .001).

The coefficient for homework (X) tells us that two students that differ by one unit on homework but are equal on reading performance are estimated to differ by .0008 units on science.

The coefficient for reading (M) tells us that two people who are equal on homework (X) but that differ by one unit on reading are estimated to differ by .3849 on science.

2. A researcher conducts a simple mediated regression to determine the extent to which reading performance mediates the relationship between time spent on homework and science performance. The researcher finds the following results. Interpret the partially standardized total effect and partially standardized direct effect.

ANSWER:

The partially standardized total effect suggests that two cases that differ by one unit on homework (X) will differ by about .0018 standard deviation on science (Y) as a result of the combined direct and indirect effects by which homework affects science.

The partially standardized direct effect suggests that, independent of the mediating effect of reading, a student that is one unit higher on homework will be about .0001 standard deviations different on science.

.

3. A researcher computes a moderated regression model and finds the following. Describe what the interaction term represents (e.g., which terms are interacting), and interpret the interaction.

Model : 1

Y : MATH

X : SCIENCE

W : READING

Product terms key:

: SCIENCE x READING

Test(s) of highest order unconditional interaction(s):

Focal predict: SCIENCE (X) var: READING (W)

ANSWER:

The interaction represents the product of science and reading and indicates how the effect of science (X) on the dependent variable, math, changes as reading (W, the moderator) changes by one unit. More specifically, as reading increases by one unit, the dependent variable decreases by .0010 as science increases by one unit.

4. A researcher conducts a moderated regression with W as the moderator. Interpret the conditional effects presented here.

Conditional effects of the focal predictor at values of the moderator(s):

ANSWER:

The first row represents the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable conditioned on the moderator, W being low (16th percentile, or one standard deviation below the mean). This is an effect of .5236. The second row represents the effect of X on Y conditioned on W being moderate (50th percentile). This is an effect of .4373. The third row represents the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable conditioned on the moderator, W being high (84th percentile, or one standard deviation above the mean). This is an effect of .3511.