Self-anchoring scales are rating instruments where the end anchors are defined by the respondents themselves, basing on their own assumptions, perceptions, goals and values. Uses of such scales are legion and they were found very useful

to reduce measurement bias in cross-cultural research. The first part of the curren study investigates whether context effects can be lessened or eliminated by using self-anchoring scales in QOL research. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted where context was manipulated with images figuring in a web survey. Self-anchoring scales did not reduce contextual bias as manipulated here. The second part of the study investigates if and how self-anchoring scales affect drop-out during the filling-out of questionnaires. It is found that, compared to a regular rating scale, a larger proportion of respondents drop-out. Moreover, subjective preferences for the one or the other scale do not seem to differ. It is concluded that self-anchoring scales may not be suitable for use in a web survey although they show to be advantageous in other settings.