Synonyms
Definition
The Cantril self-anchoring striving scale or in short the Cantril-ladder is an instrument to measure people’s attitudes towards their life and its components in various respects. The original scale contains a ladder with 11 steps, and the end points of the scale are defined by the respondents in terms of their best and their worst life experience.
Description
The Cantril self-anchoring striving scale is clearly described in Cantril’s main publication from 1965: “A person is asked to define on the basis of his own assumptions, perceptions, goals and values the two extremes or anchoring points of the spectrum on which some scale measurement is desired – for example he may be asked to define the ‘top’ and ‘bottom,’ the ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ the ‘best’ and the ‘worst.’ This well-defined continuum is then used as our measuring device” (Cantril, 1965, p. 22).
If a certain person is asked to evaluate his life using a Cantril-ladder, he is going...
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Basler Versicherungsgruppe (Ed.). (1978). Interview mit der Menschheit (Human Needs and Satisfactions), Basel.
Bernheim, J. L. (1983). L’auto-évaluation anamnestique comparative (ACSA). I. Description d’une méthode de mesure de la qualité subjective de la vie des malades cancéreux. Psychologie Médicale, 15(9), 1615–1617.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Gallup. (2012). Understanding how Gallup uses the cantril scale. http://www.gallup.com/poll/122453/understanding-gallup-uses-cantril-scale.aspx.Viewed August 3, 2012.
Gallup World Poll. (2012). https://worldview.gallup.com/.Viewed August 6, 2012.
Glatzer, W., & Zapf, W. (1984). Lebensqualität in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Frankfurt/New York.
Harter, J. K. & Gurley, V. F. (2008, September). Measuring Wellbeing in the United States. APS Observer, 21, 8. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2394
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Glatzer, W., Gulyas, J. (2014). Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_259
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_259
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0752-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0753-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawReference Module Humanities and Social Sciences