Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on music performance anxiety: A reanalysis of Liu et al. (2026)
Abstract
Drawing on the data reported by Liu et al., we reconsider whether the association they identified between physical activity and music performance anxiety is uniquely accounted for by their proposed mediation model. We show that an alternative model provides an equally satisfactory representation of the reported covariance structure while leading to a substantially different interpretation. Specifically, self-rated physical activity, psychological resilience, cognitive reappraisal, and music performance anxiety may be understood as indicators of a broader latent disposition, namely core self-evaluation. This reanalysis highlights a common challenge in observational research: the same empirical associations can often be explained by multiple theoretical models. We therefore advocate greater consideration of alternative model specifications and caution when drawing conclusions from correlational evidence.
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BibTeX
@misc{sorjonen2026questionable,
title = {{Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on music performance anxiety: A reanalysis of Liu et al. (2026)}},
author = {Kimmo Sorjonen and Bo Melin and Marika Melin},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/zjaf3_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zjaf3_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Questionable mediated effect of physical activity on music performance anxiety: A reanalysis of Liu et al. (2026)
AU - Kimmo Sorjonen
AU - Bo Melin
AU - Marika Melin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/zjaf3_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zjaf3_v1/
AB - Drawing on the data reported by Liu et al., we reconsider whether the association they identified between physical activity and music performance anxiety is uniquely accounted for by their proposed mediation model. We show that an alternative model provides an equally satisfactory representation of the reported covariance structure while leading to a substantially different interpretation. Specifically, self-rated physical activity, psychological resilience, cognitive reappraisal, and music performance anxiety may be understood as indicators of a broader latent disposition, namely core self-evaluation. This reanalysis highlights a common challenge in observational research: the same empirical associations can often be explained by multiple theoretical models. We therefore advocate greater consideration of alternative model specifications and caution when drawing conclusions from correlational evidence.
ER -