SIMPLE QUESTION, NOT SO SIMPLE ANSWER - INTERPRETING INTERACTION TERMS IN MODERATED MULTIPLE-REGRESSION

The appropriate interpretation of interaction terms in studies employing moderated multiple regression (MMR) analysis is considered. It is argued that given a theory-based, a priori hypothesis, an MMR analysis is analogous to a planned statistical comparison and, thus, a significant overall F value is not a prerequisite for interpreting a significant interaction term.