Exam 11: Moderation, Mediation and Multicategory Predictors

In the data analyst's research on online gaming, studying and male adolescents' academic performance (Gaming (centred), b = 0.190, t = 3.23, p = 0.015), which is the mediator variable?

What would you have to create in order to include categorical predictors in a moderation or mediation analysis?

What are two of the advantages of using the PROCESS tool instead of the usual regression menu in SPSS?

What is the interaction effect?

What is a moderator variable?

Why is it better to use confidence intervals to identify indirect effects rather than the Sobel test?

What does a significant result in a Sobel test mean?

A data analyst for a large chain of supermarkets conducted trials testing the influence of the helpfulness of shop floor staff and sales income. She found a significant relationship between the two variables, increased helpfulness of shop floor staff was associated with increased sales income. However, at the same time as the trials were conducted the majority of the supermarkets underwent redesigns of their layouts to make customer flow through the shop floor easier. The data analyst wondered to what extent the new shop floor designs might also have influenced sales income. What sort of analysis should she conduct to explore this further?

An HR manager in a factory conducted an analysis of the relationship between duration of production line staff lunch breaks (measured in minutes daily) and staff productivity (measured by increased number of products produced per day). He had found that there was a positive relationship between the predictor and the outcome variable. However when he introduced the variable consumption of sugary snacks (measured by number consumed per lunch break) he found that the strength of the original relationship weakened. How might he now summarise the relationship between lunch break duration and staff productivity

How would you interpret the following Sobel Test results: b = 0.134, z = 1.29, p = 0.510?

A marketing analyst conducted a market research test on the influence of a celebrity driven advertising campaign on sales of a new skincare product, which had the following result: b = 0.46, p = 0.02. How would you interpret her results?

The marketing analyst conducted further testing on the celebrity driven marketing campaign's relationship to sales of the new skincare product; building on her previous test, she was interested in the potential mediating effects of consumer age. She conducted a mediation analysis and had the following output: B = 0.31, 95% CI [0.01, 0.30], p = 0.054. How would you interpret her results?

Why is centring variables important in moderation analysis?

In the marketing analyst's analysis of what influences levels of online shopping he found that online advertising and social media usage was a significant predictor of a consumer's level of online shopping. What sort of analysis does he need to do to work out the nature of the moderation effect?

A marketing analyst was interested in the combined influence of online advertising and social media usage on levels of online shopping. What sort of analysis should he choose?

A data analyst for a large games software company conducted research into the influence of online gaming (measured in minutes daily spent playing online games) and studying (measured in minutes daily spent studying) on male adolescents' academic performance (measured by an end of term test score). She reported the following: Gaming (centred), b = 0.190, t = 3.23, p = 0.015. How would you interpret her findings?