://osf.io/6utws

To Interact or not to Interact: Pros and Cons of Including Interactions in Linear Regression Models

https://osf.io/6utws

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dcterms:created language:enDate Created language:enDate created

2024-07-26

dcterms:dateSubmitted language:enDate Submitted language:enDate submitted

2024-07-26

dcterms:description language:enDescription

Interaction effects are very common in the psychological literature. However, interaction effects are typically very small and often fail to replicate. In this study, we conducted a simulation comparing the generalizability and estimability of two linear regression models: one correctly specified to account for interaction effects and one misspecified including simple effects only. We manipulated noise levels, predictor variable correlations, and different sets of regression weights, resulting in 9216 different conditions. From each dataset we drew 1000 samples of N = 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 resulting in a total of 55.296.000 analyses for each model. Our results show that misspecification can drastically bias regression estimates, sometimes leading to zero or reversed simple effects. Furthermore, we found that when models are generalized to the entire population, the difference between the explained variance in the sample and in the population is often smaller for the misspecified model than for the correctly specified model. However, the comparison between models shows that the correctly specified model explains the data at population level better overall. These results emphasize the importance of theory in modeling choices and show that it is important to provide a rationale for why interactions are included or excluded in an analysis.

dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier

https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6utws

https://osf.io/6utws

dcterms:modified language:enDate Modified language:enDate modified

2024-10-25

dcterms:title language:enTitle

To Interact or not to Interact: Pros and Cons of Including Interactions in Linear Regression Models

osf:keyword language:enTag

Moderation

Generalizability

Statistical Interactions

Theory

osf:storageByteCount

xsd:integer767425

dcterms:creator language:enCreator

://osf.io/w2vq6

dcterms:Agent foaf:Person

Aljoscha Rimpler

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dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier: https://osf.io/w2vq6
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6131-7267
foaf:name language:enName name: Aljoscha Rimpler
owl:sameAs sameAs: ://orcid.org/0009-0009-6131-7267

://osf.io/ka4cm

dcterms:Agent foaf:Person

Henk Kiers

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dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier: https://osf.io/ka4cm
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4995-9349
foaf:name language:enName name: Henk Kiers
owl:sameAs sameAs: ://orcid.org/0000-0002-4995-9349

://osf.io/kndeq

dcterms:Agent foaf:Person

Don van Ravenzwaaij

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dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier: http://www.donvanravenzwaaij.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5030-4091
https://osf.io/kndeq
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=p3pZIdQAAAAJ&hl=en
foaf:name name language:enName: Don van Ravenzwaaij
owl:sameAs sameAs: ://orcid.org/0000-0002-5030-4091

dcterms:publisher language:enProvider language:enPublisher

://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv

foaf:Organization dcterms:Agent

PsyArXiv

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dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv
https://psyarxiv.com/
foaf:name name language:enName: PsyArXiv

dcterms:rights language:enLicense language:enRights

://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

CC-By Attribution 4.0 International

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dcterms:identifier language:enIdentifier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
foaf:name name language:enName: CC-By Attribution 4.0 International

dcterms:subject language:enSubject

://api.osf.io/v2/subjects/584240da54be81056cecac68

skos:Concept

Psychology

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skos:prefLabel language:enpreferred label

Psychology

skos:broader language:enhas broader

://api.osf.io/v2/subjects/584240da54be81056cecac48

skos:Concept

Social and Behavioral Sciences

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skos:prefLabel language:enpreferred label

Social and Behavioral Sciences

skos:inScheme language:enis in scheme

://bepress.com/reference_guide_dc/disciplines/