12/3/22, 5:17 PM Mediator vs.

Moderator Variables | Differences & Examples

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Mediator vs. Moderator Variables | Differences & Examples

Published on
March 1, 2021
by
Pritha Bhandari.
Revised on
November 25, 2022.

A mediating variable (or mediator) explains the process through which two variables are
related, while a moderating variable (or moderator) affects the strength and direction of that
relationship.

Including mediators and moderators in your research helps you go beyond studying a simple
relationship between two variables for a fuller picture of the real world. These variables are
important to consider when studying complex correlational or causal relationships between
variables.

Including these variables can also help you avoid or mitigate several research biases, like
observer bias, survivorship bias, undercoverage bias, or omitted variable bias

What’s the difference?

You can think of a mediator as a go-between for two variables. For example, sleep quality (an
independent variable) can affect academic achievement (a dependent variable) through the
mediator of alertness. In a mediation relationship, you can draw an arrow from an
independent variable to a mediator and then from the mediator to the dependent variable.

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In contrast, a moderator is something that acts upon the relationship between two variables
and changes
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contentsor strength. For example, mental health status may moderate the
relationship between sleep quality and academic achievement: the relationship might be
stronger for people without diagnosed mental health conditions than for people with them.

In a moderation relationship, you can draw an arrow from the moderator to the relationship
between an independent and dependent variable.

Mediating variables
A mediator is a way in which an independent variable impacts a dependent variable. It’s part
of the causal pathway of an effect, and it tells you how or why an effect takes place.

If something is a mediator:

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1. It’s caused by the independent variable.

2. It
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Table of the dependent variable
contents
3. When it’s taken into account, the statistical correlation between the independent and
dependent variables is higher than when it isn’t considered.

Mediation analysis is a way of statistically testing whether a variable is a mediator using linear
regression analyses or ANOVAs.

In full mediation, a mediator fully explains the relationship between the independent and
dependent variable: without the mediator in the model, there is no relationship.

In partial mediation, there is still a statistical relationship between the independent and
dependent variable even when the mediator is taken out of a model: the mediator only
partially explains the relationship.

Example: Mediator variables

In a study on socioeconomic status and reading ability in children, you hypothesize

that parental education level is a mediator. This means that socioeconomic status
affects reading ability mainly through its influence on parental education levels.

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12/3/22, 5:17 PM Mediator vs. Moderator Variables | Differences & Examples

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You use a descriptive research design for this study. After collecting data on each of
these variables, you perform statistical analysis to check whether:

1. Socioeconomic status predicts parental education levels,

2. Parental education levels predicts child reading ability,
3. The correlation between socioeconomic status and child reading ability is greater
when parental education levels are taken into account in your model.

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See an example

Moderating variables
A moderator influences the level, direction, or presence of a relationship between variables. It
shows you for whom, when, or under what circumstances a relationship will hold.

Moderators usually help you judge the external validity of your study by identifying the
limitations of when the relationship between variables holds. For example, while social media
use can predict levels of loneliness, this relationship may be stronger for adolescents than for
older adults. Age is a moderator here.

Moderators can be:

Categorical variables such as ethnicity, race, religion, favorite colors, health status, or
stimulus type,
Quantitative variables such as age, weight, height, income, or visual stimulus size.

Example: Moderator variables

In a study on work experience and salary, you hypothesize that:

years of work experience predicts salary, when controlling for relevant variables,
gender identity moderates the relationship between work experience and salary.

This means that the relationship between years of experience and salary would differ
between men, women, and those who do not identify as men or women.

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To test this statistically, you perform a multiple regression analysis for the data on work
experience and salary, with gender identity added in the model. You compare the
statistical significance of the model with and without gender identity included to
determine whether it moderates the relationship between work experience and salary.

Frequently asked questions about mediators and

moderators

What’s the difference between a mediator and a moderator? 

What’s the difference between a confounder and a mediator? 

Why should you include mediators and moderators in a study? 

How can you tell if something is a mediator? 

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Bhandari, P. (2022, November 25). Mediator vs. Moderator Variables |

Differences & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from Cite this article
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Pritha Bhandari
Pritha has an academic background in English, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As an
interdisciplinary researcher, she enjoys writing articles explaining tricky research concepts for
students and academics.

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 Table of contents
Independent vs. Dependent Variables | Definition & Examples
An independent variable is the cause while a dependent variable is the effect in a causal research study.

2755

Control Variables | What Are They & Why Do They Matter?

A control variable is anything that is held constant in a study to prevent it from interfering with the results.

241

Confounding Variables | Definition, Examples & Controls

In a cause-and-effect study, a confounding variable is an unmeasured variable that influences both the supposed
cause and effect.

556

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