What do you understand by the terms mediation

and moderation?
mediation
 c
X Y
 M
a b

c′
X Y
moderation
 M

X Y
Are these examples of questions that would be
answered using mediation or moderation?

• Why is it that more people are likely to help when they are alone?
• Under what conditions are people likely to help?
• Why are stressed people more depressed?
• Does ruminating on problems explain why people higher on neuroticism are prone to
depression?
• Do all men feel bad after seeing media images of male bodies? (Moderation - some
men may not feel bad after seeing images of male bodies)
• How might we reduce the influence of stress on depression? (Moderation - change
the relationship between stress and depression)
• Intervention effects on tobacco use were greater for persons who were more likely to
believe the positive consequences of tobacco use at baseline. (moderation).
• A program works for junior school students but not secondary school students.
(Moderator)
• A programme works for secondary school students and not junior school students
because of higher levels of intelligence in secondary school students. (mediator –
mediates the influence of age on the outcome)
• Nicotine patch treatment differs depending on whether the person has a certain
genetic disposition. (moderator)