Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a hybrid method designed to bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative research in a case-sensitive approach that considers each case holistically as a complex configuration of conditions and outcomes. QCA allows for multiple conjunctural causation, implying that it is often a combination of…

Mediation analysis is widely applied in various fields of science, such as psychology, epidemiology, and sociology. In practice, many psychological and behavioral phenomena are dynamic, and the corresponding mediation effects are expected to change over time. However, most existing mediation methods assume a static mediation effect over time,…

Mediation analysis is widely applied in various fields of science, such as psychology, epidemiology, and sociology. In practice, many psychological and behavioral phenomena are dynamic, and the corresponding mediation effects are expected to change over time. However, most existing mediation methods assume a static mediation effect over time,…

This study presents a novel approach contributing to our understanding of the design, development, and implementation AI-based systems for conducting double-blind online randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for higher education research. The process of the entire interaction with the participants (n = 1193) and their allocation to test and control…

Our prior research with Indigenous school children and adolescents in Perú, often in remote high-altitude Andean locations, mostly centers on an exploration of health and school performance and their relation to the practice of Transcendental Meditation, a natural and easy-to-learn technique for mental and physiological rest and stress reduction.…

In mixed methods approaches, statistical models are used to identify "nested" cases for intensive, small-n investigation for a range of purposes, including notably the examination of causal mechanisms. This article shows that under a commonsense interpretation of causal effects, large-n models allow no reliable conclusions about effect…

The Illusion of Explanatory Depth (IOED) occurs when people overestimate their ability to explain the causal mechanisms of natural or social processes. Prior research has attributed this metacognitive bias to confounding the understanding of abstract causal patterns with the comprehension of domain-specific mechanisms. However, this explanation…

Does "X" affect "Y"? Answering this question is particularly difficult if reverse causality is looming. Many social scientists turn to panel data to address such questions of causal ordering. Yet even in longitudinal analyses, reverse causality threatens causal inference based on conventional panel models. Whereas the…

Narrative is fundamental to human thought, yet in many classrooms, expository texts are commonly used to support learning in content-based subjects, such as history. Given the importance of narrative, it might be harnessed as a powerful tool to support learning. This research compares the impact of narrative nonfiction (NNF) and expository text…

The internal validity of observational study is often subject to debate. In this study, we define the counterfactuals as the unobserved sample and intend to quantify its relationship with the null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST). We propose the probability of a robust inference for internal validity, that is, the PIV, as a robustness index…

The relationship between students' subject-specific academic self-concept and their academic achievement is one of the most widely researched topics in educational psychology. A large proportion of this research has considered cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs), oftentimes synonymously referred to as reciprocal effects models (REMs), as the gold…

Most current statistics courses include some instruction relevant to causal inference. Whether this instruction is incorporated as material on randomized experiments or as an interpretation of associations measured by correlation or regression coefficients, the way in which this material is presented may have important implications for…

As part of the first author's expert testimony at a court trial, we investigated hindsight bias in perceptions of the predictability of a real flash flood. Participants were presented with pictures taken before the flash flood and asked to rate the muddiness of the water and judge the likelihood of flooding in Experiment 1. Participants who were…

We discuss the causative-inchoative alternation in Turkish Sign Language (Türk Isaret Dili -- TID), and the age of acquisition effects on multi-predicate, complex constructions that are observed in both causative and inchoative events. We present a picture-description task performed by 24 adult signers, half of which were exposed to TID from birth…

Parents are often a good source of information, introducing children to how the world around them is described and explained in terms of cause-and-effect relations. Parents also vary in their speech, and these variations can predict children's later language skills. Being born preterm might be related to such parent-child interactions. The present…