Abstract

Self-report questionnaires are widely used in social surveys and psychological assessment to measure individuals’ attitudes, personality traits, values, emotions, and behavioral tendencies. However, self-report data rely on the assumption that respondents answer items based on their substantive content. When respondents tend to answer in particular ways regardless of item content, the validity of measurement may be compromised. One representative phenomenon of this problem is response style. Response styles can be understood not as random error, but as systematic measurement error arising from various factors, including individual differences, item format, scale construction, survey context, and cultural norms. This study reviews previous research on major response styles observed in self-report measurement. Specifically, it examines key types of response styles, including extreme response style, midpoint response style, and acquiescent and disacquiescent response styles. It also discusses the causes of response styles, methods for their detection, statistical correction procedures, and preventive strategies at the stages of scale design and survey administration. In addition, the study reviews the influence of response styles in the context of cross-cultural research. Finally, this study presents practical guidelines that researchers and practitioners should consider in identifying and managing response styles.