In psychology and education, latent variables are standardly modeled as causing their indicators

Evidence

Signaled by the causal arrow →, the latent variable causes the indicator. This causal view of latent variables is probably the standard in psychology and education. One can find innumerable textbooks and handbooks that provide a causal interpretation of latent variable models. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 334

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the meaning of the causal arrow in a latent variable diagram: it runs from unobserved cause to observed indicator.