When moderation is mediated and mediation is moderated.

Procedures for examining whether treatment effects on an outcome are mediated and/or moderated have been well developed and are routinely applied. The mediation question focuses on the intervening mechanism that produces the treatment effect. The moderation question focuses on factors that affect the magnitude of the treatment effect. It is important to note that these two processes may be combined in informative ways, such that moderation is mediated or mediation is moderated. Although some prior literature has discussed these possibilities, their exact definitions and analytic procedures have not been completely articulated. The purpose of this article is to define precisely both mediated moderation and moderated mediation and provide analytic strategies for assessing each. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of applicability in the emergence of the overattribution bias.

Study 1 assessed participants' theories regarding various issues previously used in overattribution bias studies. Results suggest that personality plays an important role in explaining positions on these issues. Studies 2, 3, and 4 indicated that the overattribution bias is contingent on the explanatory applicability of accessible concepts for a particular issue. Study 2 used an issue associated with personality; an overattribution bias emerged only when personality was stressed in the instructions. Study 3 used an issue associated with a sociological theory; this time, an overattribution bias appeared only when a socioeconomic concept was emphasized. Essays were not circulated in Studies 2 and 3, but were in Study 4. Again, the bias appeared only when an applicable (personality) concept was activated. These results, which extend the range of applicability, are discussed within the framework of the social judgability approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)