Felix Thoemmes

Cornell University | CU · Department of Human Development

Causal inference is a central goal of research. However, most psychologists refrain from explicitly addressing causal research questions and avoid drawing causal inference on the basis of nonexperimental evidence. We argue that this taboo against causal inference in nonexperimental psychology impairs study design and data analysis, holds back cumul...

Causal inference is a central goal of research. However, most psychologists refrain from explicitly addressing causal research questions and avoid drawing causal inference on the basis of nonexperimental evidence. We argue that this taboo against causal inference in nonexperimental psychology impairs study design and data analysis, holds back cumul...

In a mediation model the effect of a dependent variable (DV) on an outcome is (partially) due to the DV's effect on one or multiple mediator(s) that consequently have an effect on the outcome. The use of such models as the theoretical background guiding empirical studies is widespread. Mediation models are fundamentally causal models that specify c...

The Negative Year in School Effect (NYiSE) claims that grade-relative-to-age influences academic self-concept. Being young for your grade is associated with lower self-concept, whereas being old for your grade is associated with higher self-concept. We extend this research in several ways. First, we aim to improve causal claims for the NYiSE by uti...

Evaluation of model fit is critically important for every structural equation model and sophisticated methods have been developed for this task. Among them are the χ2 goodness-of-fit test, decomposition of the χ2, derived measures like the popular RMSEA or CFI, or inspection of residuals or modification indices. Many of these methods provide a glob...

Omnipresent calls for more women in university administration presume women will prioritize using resources and power to increase female representation, especially in STEM fields where women are most underrepresented. However, empirical evidence is lacking for systematic differences in female vs. male administratorsŠ attitudes. Do female administr...

Evaluation of model fit is critically important for every structural equation model and sophisticated methods have been developed for this task. Among them are the chi-square goodness-of-fit test, decomposition of the chi-square, derived measures like the popular RMSEA or CFI, or inspection of residuals or modification indices. Many of these method...

Commentary: Causal Effects in Mediation Modeling: An Introduction with Applications to Latent Variables Emil N. Coman *, Felix Thoemmes and Judith Fifield • Health Disparities Institute, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, USA The total effect TE was −0.66 BMI units (approx. −3.9 lbs. for an average 64 inch woman). The mediated interaction effect INTMe...

This article describes the analysis of regression-discontinuity designs (RDDs) using the R packages rdd, rdrobust, and rddtools. We discuss similarities and differences between these packages and provide directions on how to use them effectively. We use real data from the Carolina Abecedarian Project to show how an analysis of an RDD can be perform...

Study 4 raw data (CSV files) from The effects of exposure to objective coherence on perceived meaning in life: a preregistered direct replication of Heintzelman, Trent & King (2013)

Study 2 raw data (CSV files) from The effects of exposure to objective coherence on perceived meaning in life: a preregistered direct replication of Heintzelman, Trent & King (2013)

Having a sense of meaning in life (MIL) has been acknowledged as a catalyst to psychological flourishing. As such, understanding ways to promote MIL represents a worthy goal for those interested in bolstering positive outcomes. This study sought to replicate the findings of Heintzelman, Trent & King (2013 Psychol. Sci. 24, 991–998 doi:10.1177/09567...

Background: Standard models used to test gene-environment interaction (G × E) hypotheses make the causal assumption that there are no unobserved variables that could be biasing the interaction estimate. Whether this assumption can be met in nonexperimental studies is unclear because the interactive biological pathways from genetic polymorphisms an...

Existing gap-year research indicates a number of benefits of a gap-year at the end of school and before university enrollment. Life span theory of control, however, suggests that direct goal investment, rather than delay, at developmental transitions is associated with more adaptive outcomes. Comparing these perspectives, the authors undertook 2 st...

Propensity scores represent the probability that an individual is assigned to a treatment group given the individual's scores on a set of covariates. Propensity scores are used in nonrandomized studies to equate treatment and control groups on a large number of covariates measured at baseline. Assumptions necessary for propensity score analysis to...

Mediation analysis, or more generally models with direct and indirect effects, are commonly used in the behavioral sciences. As we show in our illustrative example, traditional methods of mediation analysis that omit confounding variables can lead to systematically biased direct and indirect effects, even in the context of a randomized experiment....

The treatment of missing data in the social sciences has changed tremendously during the last decade. Modern missing data techniques such as multiple imputation and full-information maximum likelihood are used much more frequently. These methods assume that data are missing at random. One very common approach to increase the likelihood that missing...

A propensity score is the probability that a participant is assigned to the treatment group based on a set of baseline covariates. Propensity scores provide an excellent basis for equating treatment groups on a large set of covariates when randomization is not possible. This article provides a nontechnical introduction to propensity scores for clin...

Es wird ein Überblick über zentrale methodische Herausforderungen in der Talentforschung gegeben und für die folgenden Herausforderungen Lösungsstrategien bzw. -ansätze skizziert: (1) mangelnde Standardisierung der Talentdefinitionen, (2) Schwierigkeit der Identifikation geeigneter Kontrollgruppen, (3) Dropout bei Interventions- und Längsschnittstu...

Mediation analysis is a statistical approach used to examine how the effect of an independent variable on an outcome is transmitted through an intervening variable (mediator). In this article, we provide a gentle introduction to single-level and multilevel mediation analyses. Using single-level data, we demonstrate an application of structural equa...

To understand the influences associated with durability and diffusion of benefits of a fire service wellness program. Qualitative assessment of group interviews. Five years following a controlled worksite wellness trial, behavioral improvements were durable and had diffused to control participants. These findings were associated with firefighters'...

Based on the social investment principle and theories of social relationship differentiation, the present study was conducted to investigate whether personality differences in high school predict young adults' living arrangements (with roommates or a romantic partner, alone, or staying with parents) 2 years later (selection) and whether these diffe...

Zusammenfassung: Im tertiaren Ausbildungsbereich gibt es verschiedene Hochschultypen, die sich hinsichtlich wichtiger Aspekte wie z. B. der Bedeutung, fachlich-praktische Kompetenzen zu vermitteln, unterscheiden. Bislang liegen jedoch kaum Erkenntnisse dazu vor, ob und – falls ja – wie stark der Besuch unterschiedlicher Hochschultypen den Berufserf...

Autorenhinweis: Diese Arbeit entstand im Rahmen einer Expertise für und unter finanzieller Förderung durch die Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg. Die Auftraggeberin nahm zu keinem Zeitpunkt einen Einfluss auf das Design der Studie, die Analysen und die hier berichteten Befunde.

In Deutschland kann man an verschiedenen Hochschultypen studieren. Die vorliegende Studie widmet sich der Frage, wie sich die Wahl eines bestimmten Hochschultyps auf zentrale Persönlichkeitsmerkmale (berufliche Interessen, berufliche Motive und die Big Five) auswirkt. Bereits vorliegende Befunde machen deutlich, dass die einzelnen Hochschultypen St...

Psychosomatic disorders are composed of an array of psychological, biologic, and environmental features. The existing evidence points to a role for genetic factors in explaining individual differences in the development and maintenance of a variety of disorders, but studies to date have not shown consistent and replicable effects. As such, the atte...

Propensity score matching is a tool for causal inference in non-randomized studies that allows for conditioning on large sets of covariates. The use of propensity scores in the social sciences is currently experiencing a tremendous increase; however it is far from a commonly used tool. One impediment towards a more wide-spread use of propensity sco...

Military experience is an important turning point in a person's life and, consequently, is associated with important life outcomes. Using a large longitudinal sample of German males, we examined whether personality traits played a role during this period. Results indicated that personality traits prospectively predicted the decision to enter the mi...

Different research traditions have separately developed various theories of causal inference. Three of these approaches are contrasted in this paper. In particular, I will explore differences and similarities of the potential outcomes approach, the generalized causal inference framework of Campbell, and the theory of causal DAGs. Each of the 3 appr...

This study investigated the accuracy of several early literacy measures that have been used in research and practice for first grade reading screening. A set of measures, Word Identification Fluency (WIF), Letter Naming Fluency, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Word Fluency, were administered as screening measures with 138 first grade stu...

Research Findings: Parental expressivity, child physiological regulation (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia suppression), child behavioral regulation, and child adjustment outcomes were examined in 45 children (M age = 4.32 years, SD = 1.30) and their parents. With the exception of child adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing probl...

In this article we propose several modeling choices to extend propensity score analysis to clustered data. We describe different possible model specifications for estimation of the propensity score: single-level model, fixed effects model, and two random effects models. We also consider both conditioning within clusters and conditioning across clus...

The use of propensity scores in psychological and educational research has been steadily increasing in the last 2 to 3 years. However, there are some common misconceptions about the use of different estimation techniques and condition-ing choices in the context of propensity score analysis. In addition, reporting practices for propensity score anal...

To describe effects of 2 worksite health promotion programs for firefighters, both immediate outcomes and the long-term consequences for 4 years following the interventions. At baseline, 599 firefighters were assessed, randomized by fire station to control and 2 different intervention conditions, and reevaluated with 6 annual follow-up measurements...

Applied researchers often include mediation effects in applications of advanced methods such as latent variable models and linear growth curve models. Guidance on how to estimate statistical power to detect mediation for these models has not yet been addressed in the literature. We describe a general framework for power analyses for complex mediati...

The association between grade retention in first grade and passing the third grade state accountability tests, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) reading and math, was investigated in a sample of 769 students who were recruited into the study when they were in first grade. Of these 769 students, 165 were retained in first grade and...

Donald Campbell's approach to causal inference (D. T. Campbell, 1957; W. R. Shadish, T. D. Cook, & D. T. Campbell, 2002) is widely used in psychology and education, whereas Donald Rubin's causal model (P. W. Holland, 1986; D. B. Rubin, 1974, 2005) is widely used in economics, statistics, medicine, and public health. Campbell's approach focuses on t...

Religiosity, especially religious fundamentalism, is often assumed to have an inherent connection with conservative politics. This article proposes that the relationship varies by race in the United States. In Study 1, race moderated the relationships between religiosity indicators and political alignment in a nationally representative sample. In S...

Integrative complexity broadly measures the structural complexity of statements. This breadth, although beneficial in multiple ways, can potentially hamper the development of specific theories. In response, the authors developed a model of complex thinking, focusing on 2 different ways that people can be complex within the integrative complexity sy...

Although U.S. presidents are one of the most studied groups of political figures and integrative complexity is one of the most widely used constructs in political psychology, no study to date has fully examined the integrative complexity of all U.S. presidents. The present study helps fill in that gap by scoring 41 U.S. presidents' first four State...