Centering, Revisited. In Exercise 2.6 I introduced the term centered variable, refer-
ring to a variable that is deviated from its mean. Centered variables are particularly
useful in interaction models. Consider equation (3.9) again. Suppose that zero is not
a legitimate value for Z. Then the t test for b
1
—the main effect of X—is not particu-
larly meaningful since it refers to the effect of X when Z is zero. Similarly, the test for
b
2
refers to the effect of Z when X is zero, which, again, may not be a meaningful
value for X. However, if Z and X have first been centered, and the cross-product XZ is
constructed using the centered variables, the main effects of X and Z are always mean-
ingful. The reason for this is that a centered variable, say Z
c
⫽ Z ⫺ Z
苶
, has a mean of
zero. Therefore, the main effect of X, β
1
, in the centered-variable interaction model is
the effect of X when Z
c
is zero or when Z is at its mean. The same interpretation
applies to the main effect of Z if X is also centered: It is the effect of Z when X is at
its mean. Hence, centering in interaction models renders the main effects of the inter-
acting variables interpretable. Another advantage of centering variables involved in
interactions has to do with the problem of multicollinearity (discussed below). Recall
that multicollinearity arises because one variable is highly correlated with another
variable or with a linear combination of the other variables. Cross-product terms of
the form XZ are highly correlated with their component variables—X and Z—and
therefore introduce collinearity problems into the model. It turns out that centering
variables before creating cross-product terms brings about a substantial reduction in
this collinearity [see Aiken and West (1991) for the mathematics behind this].
Example. Table 3.4 presents a MULR analysis of faculty salary for 725 faculty
members at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) for the academic year 1993–
1994. The dependent variable is the nine-month salary in dollars. The independent
variables are the number of years of prior experience ( job experience prior to start-
ing at BGSU), the number of years at the university, the number of years in rank, and
a continuous variable tapping the marketability of one’s discipline. This marketabil-
ity factor is the ratio of average academic-year salary of full-time faculty in a partic-
ular discipline to average academic-year salary of all full-time faculty. The variables
years at the university and years in rank are both centered. Model 1 is the main effects,
or additive model, the model without any interaction effects. All variables except
years in rank have significant effects on salary. The directions of effects suggest that
years of prior experience, years at the university, and marketability of the discipline
are all positively associated with salary. Although the marketability variable appears
to have the largest unstandardized effect, the standardized coefficients suggest that
years at the university has the strongest impact on salary.
Model 2 investigates the interaction of years at the university with years in rank in
their effects on salary. Therefore, model 2 adds to the main effects model the cross-
product of centered years at the university with centered years in rank. The coefficient
for the interaction effect is significant at p ⬍ .05, suggesting that the impact of years
at the university is a function of years in rank. To ascertain the nature of the interac-
tion, we examine the partial slope for years at the university. Its value is (1008.267 ⫺
15.481 years in rank). In that the main effect of years at the university is significant,
we see that years at the university has a significant positive effect on salary for those
106 INTRODUCTION TO MULTIPLE REGRESSION