Answer to Question #216178 in Statistics and Probability for Bafedi

Question

Briefly discuss the four principles for successful moderation.

Answer 1

When the question motivating a study asks when or under what circumstances X exerts an effect on Y, moderation analysis is an appropriate analytical strategy. The principles of moderation analysis:

1. If W is related to the magnitude of the effect of X on Y, we say that W moderates X’s effect, or that X and W interact in their influence on Y.

2. A hypothesis about moderation can be tested in several ways. The most common approach, widely used by researchers in many disciplines, is to include the product of X and W in the model of Y along with X and W. This allows X’s effect on Y to depend linearly on W. If such a dependency is established, it is no longer sensible to talk about X’s effect on Y without conditioning that discussion on W.

3. A regression model that includes a product of two antecedent variables can be difficult to interpret when left in its mathematical form. A picture of a moderation model can go a long way toward better understanding the contingent nature of the association between X and Y.

4. A formal probing of the interaction by estimating the conditional effect of X on Y for various values of W. The pick-a-point approach is the most commonly implemented strategy for probing interactions, but the Johnson–Neyman technique is slowly gaining users and followers, and probably will in time be as popular or even more so than the pick-a-point approach.