Angel or Devil: A Commentary on Developmental and Causal Studies Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Personality Psychology

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has changed psychological investigation drastically in two ways. First, SEM serves not only as a statistical technique for estimating descriptive statistics and testing causal model hypotheses, but also as a powerful tool to check validity of a theory or even to construct a new theory. Second, thanks to SEM, researchers have begun to think of constructing large-scale and systematic research projects in order to benefit from the advantages of SEM. SEM is, however, not a theory itself, but a tool for theory construction. It is researchers' critical thinking that tests and evaluates a theory. Close collaboration of researchers and statisticians in a research project is desirable, or even necessary.