Self-Anchoring Scale: Does It Make a Difference?

Abstract

Self-anchoring scales are ones in which each respondent provides an individual definition of the end points of a dimension and then rates himself on this self defined continuum. Presumably (1) people will rate themselves differently when asked to define anchoring points as against not defining them; and (2) people with different self-definitions of the end points of a dimension will rate themselves differently. To test these two propositions, the responses of subjects (University of Wisconsin introductory psychology students) completing different forms of a work values questionnaire were compared. One group defined anchoring points on half the items, another did no defining, and a third group was administered both forms in a testretest fashion. The results of the analysis provide no evidence that (1) people give different ratings when defining the end points of a dimension, and (2) that different definitions lead to different rankings. The conclusion, therefore, is that self-anchoring scales, compared with scales whose end points are undefined, do not demonstrably provide any special advantage to the researcher.