DB #3 Student Post Reply

Tiana Felton

Mediation analysis refers to the transmittance of change from the cause to its effect. When using mediation analysis it is seen for example that within the three variables the variable X may influence the outcome of variable Y which may have an effect through a mediating variable X2. According to Warner "Mediation occurs if the effect of X1 on Y is partly or entirely “transmitted” by X2. A mediated causal model involves a causal sequence; first, X1 causes or influences X2; then, X2 causes or influences Y. X1 may have additional direct effects on Y that are not transmitted by X2. A mediation hypothesis can be represented by a diagram of a causal model" (2013, p.645) Whereas moderation analysis refers to being used to determine whether the relationship between two variables depends on that of the value of a third variable can seem similar to mediation but mediation simply is cause and effect.

The advantages of mediation analysis is that it gives an understanding on why and under what conditions variables are related to one another. So when doing research you can really see the cause and the effect of one another when using this analysis. When studying the racial effects of segregation Pais uses the mediation analysis and discusses the advantages this analysis had on the research. According to Pais "Advances in mediation analysis are used to examine the legacy effects of racial residential segregation in the United States on neighborhood attainments across two familial generations. The legacy effects of segregation are anticipated to operate through two primary pathways: a neighborhood effects pathway and an urban continuity pathway. The neighborhood effects pathway explains why parent’s exposure to racial residential segregation during their family rearing years can influence the residential outcomes of their children later in life. The urban continuity pathway captures the temporal consistency of the built and topographical environment in providing similar residential opportunities across generations." (2017, p.1)

The advantages of moderation analysis is that it allows the researcher to see the effects of two variables and then how those two variables can effect something else. For example, racial profiling done from police can effect the way African Americans view law enforcement this such behavior can also have an effect on the way other races view law enforcement as well which can spark riots. The variable X being police officer racial profiling, the variable Y being African Americans and the variable W being society. This can be backed up by research of the black lives matter movement which has been an on going movement which was sparked from the traumas stemming from Trayvon Martin. 

A lack of attention to detail in both of these analysis can lead to reliability issues when it comes to outcomes. "Although they found no significant difference, there were empirical limitations noted about multiple regression (Turulja & Bajgoric, 2020). This could lead to an error in the results of a mediation analysis. A lack of attention to assumptions can affect the use of mediation and moderation analysis as well. For example, a lack of attention provided to measurement error can lead to decreased reliability and dismissing moderating effects that could seem improbable in flawed analyses (Aguinis et al., 2017). Another example can be found in researchers assuming that only a single variable can mediate the effect of an antecedent variable on a consequent variable (Hayes & Rockwood, 20017). This is not the case since there can be more than one mediating variable."