von Eye Alexander, Mun Eun Young, Mair Patrick
Michigan State University, 316 Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1116, USA.
Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2009 Sep;43(3):228-47. doi: 10.1007/s12124-009-9088-9.
Mediation is a process that links a predictor and a criterion via a mediator variable. Mediation can be full or partial. This well-established definition operates at the level of variables even if they are categorical. In this article, two new approaches to the analysis of mediation are proposed. Both of these approaches focus on the analysis of categorical variables. The first involves mediation analysis at the level of configurations instead of variables. Thus, mediation can be incorporated into the arsenal of methods of analysis for person-oriented research. Second, it is proposed that Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA) can be used for both exploration and confirmation of mediation relationships among categorical variables. The implications of using CFA are first that mediation hypotheses can be tested at the level of individual configurations instead of variables. Second, this approach leaves the door open for different types of mediation processes to exist within the same set. Using a data example, it is illustrated that aggregate-level analysis can overlook mediation processes that operate at the level of individual configurations.
中介作用是一种通过中介变量将预测变量和准则联系起来的过程。中介作用可以是完全的或部分的。即使变量是分类变量，这个已被广泛认可的定义也是在变量层面上起作用的。在本文中，提出了两种新的中介分析方法。这两种方法都侧重于分类变量的分析。第一种方法涉及在构型层面而非变量层面进行中介分析。因此，中介作用可以被纳入到面向人的研究分析方法的武器库中。其次，有人提出构型频率分析（CFA）可用于探索和确认分类变量之间的中介关系。使用CFA的意义首先在于，中介假设可以在个体构型层面而非变量层面进行检验。其次，这种方法为同一集合中存在不同类型的中介过程留出了空间。通过一个数据示例说明，总体层面的分析可能会忽略在个体构型层面起作用的中介过程。
