Discussion questions#
If X has no total effect on Y, but strong opposing indirect and direct pathways, would you think ‘There is no relationship’ or ‘There is a complex relationship that we are failing to explain’? What does this say about how we interpret null effects in psychology?
If mediation doesn’t establish causality, what extra assumptions or considerations would you need to argue that M is a true causal mechanism rather than a statistical property? Where do you draw the line between data storytelling and causal explanation?