We are interested in how education affects the number of times one visits the public library in the past year. We think that the more educated you are, the more you use the library. However, we think that income also plays a role: the more educated you are, the more income you have, and the more income you have, the less you use the library (because you simply buy the books in which you are interested). We create a path model using GSS2008 data:
Beta on arrow going from education to income: +.39***
Beta on arrow going from education to library use: +.22***
Beta on arrow going from income to library use: -.14***
Here is a set of nested models created using GSS2008 data. The coefficients are betas:

$\text { Dependent Variable: \# of times visited public library in past year }$
$\begin{array}{llc}
\text { Independent Variable } & \text { Model 1 } & \text { Model 2 } \
\text { Education (in years) } & \# \# \# * * * & .22 * * * \
\text { Income (in thousands) } & --- & -.14^{* * *}
\end{array}$ What number goes in the place of the ###?
A) .17
B) .13
C) .22
D) .40

Question

We are interested in how education affects the number of times one visits the public library in the past year. We think that the more educated you are, the more you use the library. However, we think that income also plays a role: the more educated you are, the more income you have, and the more income you have, the less you use the library (because you simply buy the books in which you are interested). We create a path model using GSS2008 data:
Beta on arrow going from education to income: +.39***
Beta on arrow going from education to library use: +.22***
Beta on arrow going from income to library use: -.14***
Here is a set of nested models created using GSS2008 data. The coefficients are betas:

$\text { Dependent Variable: \# of times visited public library in past year }$
$\begin{array}{llc}
\text { Independent Variable } & \text { Model 1 } & \text { Model 2 } \
\text { Education (in years) } & \# \# \# * * * & .22 * * * \
\text { Income (in thousands) } & --- & -.14^{* * *}
\end{array}$ What number goes in the place of the ###?
A) .17
B) .13
C) .22
D) .40

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct number is .17 because it represents the direct effect of education on library use without controlling for income. When income is added to the model (Model 2), the effect of education (.22) is partially mediated by income, hence the direct effect of education on library use when not accounting for income (Model 1) is reduced to .17.

We Are Interested in How Education Affects the Number of Times