Total Effect

Total Effect

• The Total Effect (TE) is estimated as the derivative of the Target Node with respect to a Driver Node under study.

where $X$ is the node of interest and $Y$ is the Target Node.

• The Total Effect represents the change in the mean of the Target Node associated with — and not necessarily caused by — a small modification of the mean of a Driver Node.
• The Total Effect is the ratio of these two values.

Standardized Total Effect

• The Standardized Total Effect (STE) represents the Total Effect multiplied by the ratio of the standard deviation of a Driver Node and the standard deviation of the Target Node.

This means that Standardized Total Effect takes into account the “potential” of the driver under study.