Direct and indirect effects in decomposed zero-order correlations among variables in causal models are considered. Under certain circumstances, the components of the decompositions could be interpreted as direct, indirect, and spurious causal effects, plus a component called joint associations. The sum of the direct and indirect effects is the total effect. The total effects component can be obtained through reduced-form regression equations and the indirect effects may be calculated by taking the difference between the reduced-form regression coefficients and the direct effect. A four-variable, fully recursive path model is described with results that are applicable to any hierarchical causal model. To aid understanding of the method an illustrative block recursive path model is presented. (Author/CM)