Self-reported measures are measures in which respondents are asked to report directly on their own behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, or intentions. For example, many common measures of attitudes such as Thur-stone scales, Likert scales, and semantic differentials are self-report. Similarly, other constructs of interest to survey researchers, such as behavioral intentions, beliefs, and retrospective reports of behaviors, are often measured via self-reports.

Self-reported measures can be contrasted to other types of measures that do not rely on respondents' reports. For example, behavioral measures involve observing respondents' behaviors, sometimes in a constrained or controlled environment. Similarly, physiological measures like galvanic skin response, pupillary response, and subtle movements of facial muscles rely on biological responses rather than self-report. Measures of other variables, such as weight, height, or cholesterol level ...