Citation

Martinez Gutierrez N, Cribbie R. Can. J. Behav. Sci. 2021; 53(4): 480-488.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Canadian Psychological Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1037/cbs0000267

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suppressor variables increase the predictive power of one or more predictors by suppressing irrelevant variance. Although theoretically and statistically useful, no research has addressed the frequency or interpretation of statistical suppression (SS) in the psychological literature. In two studies, we explored the nature and interpretation of SS. In the first study, we reviewed regression analyses to determine the frequency with which SS occurs in psychological articles published in 2017. Approximately one-third of articles showed evidence of SS, although researchers almost never acknowledged or attempted to interpret the SS. In the second study, we reviewed articles containing the keyword "suppression" to assess the interpretations provided by researchers that identified SS.

RESULTS indicate that most researchers do not attempt to classify or interpret SS. Therefore, although SS is common in psychology, scarcely any attempts are made to identify, classify, and/or interpret it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Keywords

Predictability (Measurement); Statistical Regression; Statistical Variables