Restricted variance interactions in the workplace

What is it about?

Sometimes variables interact in their effects because one of those variables constrains another variable in the system. Personality doesn't predict velocity at red lights because a red light is a "strong situation" such that driving behavior is constrained. A yellow light is a weak situation that doesn't constrain driving behavior, and that behavior can then be predicted by personality. Thus we have a "restricted variance interaction" between personality and traffic light color in the prediction of velocity. These sorts of interactions are common in workplace phenomena. An understanding of RV interactions allows one to make superior arguments for interaction effects in the workplace

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Why is it important?

We as field have a hard time making cases for interaction hypotheses. It is relatively simple to make a case for an RV interaction. At one level of the moderator, one of the other variables in the system has relatively little variance, so it doesn't covary with other things. At a different level of the moderator this compression doesn't happen, so that variable is free to covary with other things. In justifying such effects, one need only explain that the compression happens at one level of the moderator, and at another level of the moderator, the previously compressed variable covaries with some third variable. That's it.

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