How to find the Mediation Effect using Sobel Z test?

You're trying to see if one thing helps another by going through a middle helper, like how a ladder helps you reach a high shelf by being held by your friend.

Imagine you have Friend A, who wants to get to a high shelf. They can't reach it alone, but they use Ladder B that Friend C holds up. So Friend A gets to the shelf because of Ladder B and Friend C helping out.

In this case, we're checking if Ladder B is the reason Friend A can reach the high shelf, that's called a mediation effect.

The Sobel Z test is like a special ruler that measures how much help Ladder B really gives. It compares two things: how good Friend C is at holding up Ladder B, and how helpful Ladder B is for Friend A to reach the shelf.

If the ruler says "yes", meaning Ladder B helps enough, then we know it's a real helper in this story.

By using the Sobel Z test, we're seeing if our middle helper (Ladder B) is actually making the connection between Friend A and the high shelf.