Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on smartphone addiction: A comment on Fu and Wang (2026)
Abstract
Drawing on the covariance matrix reported by Fu and Wang, I reassessed the empirical basis of their mediation model linking physical activity to decreased smartphone addiction. I demonstrate that the observed covariance structure can be reproduced by a theoretically different latent-variable model that does not rely on the directional mechanism proposed in the original article. In this alternative account, self-reported physical activity, self-control, health-promoting lifestyle, and smartphone addiction are conceptualized as indicators of a broader construct, core self-evaluation. The results illustrate a broader inferential problem in psychological research: multiple theoretically plausible models may provide equally adequate explanations of the same correlational pattern. Consequently, observational associations alone offer limited grounds for preferring one explanation over competing alternatives. Researchers should therefore routinely evaluate alternative models when drawing inferences about psychological mechanisms from nonexperimental data.
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BibTeX
@misc{sorjonen2026questionable,
title = {{Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on smartphone addiction: A comment on Fu and Wang (2026)}},
author = {Kimmo Sorjonen},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/gtb6d_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/gtb6d_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on smartphone addiction: A comment on Fu and Wang (2026)
AU - Kimmo Sorjonen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/gtb6d_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/gtb6d_v1/
AB - Drawing on the covariance matrix reported by Fu and Wang, I reassessed the empirical basis of their mediation model linking physical activity to decreased smartphone addiction. I demonstrate that the observed covariance structure can be reproduced by a theoretically different latent-variable model that does not rely on the directional mechanism proposed in the original article. In this alternative account, self-reported physical activity, self-control, health-promoting lifestyle, and smartphone addiction are conceptualized as indicators of a broader construct, core self-evaluation. The results illustrate a broader inferential problem in psychological research: multiple theoretically plausible models may provide equally adequate explanations of the same correlational pattern. Consequently, observational associations alone offer limited grounds for preferring one explanation over competing alternatives. Researchers should therefore routinely evaluate alternative models when drawing inferences about psychological mechanisms from nonexperimental data.
ER -