Researchers often have expectations that can be expressed in the form of inequality constraints among the parameters of a structural equation model. It is currently not possible to test these so-called informative hypotheses in structural equation modeling software. We offer a solution to this problem using Mplus. The hypotheses are evaluated using plug-in p values with a calibrated alpha level. The method is introduced and its utility is illustrated by means of an example.

Van de Schoot, R., Hoijtink, H., & Deković, M. (2010). Testing inequality constrained hypotheses in SEM Models. Structural Equation Modeling, 17(3), 443–463. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2010.489010

For Mplus syntax and R-code, see

  • Example 1
  • Example 2
  • Example 3

Herbert Hoijtink
Professor Applied Bayesian Statistics
Herbert's main research interest is the evaluation of Informative Hypotheses. These are hypotheses constructed using (in)equality constraints among the parameters of interest.
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