ABSTRACT
Resistentialism is a systematic treatment of the 'innate cussedness of things. To the social scientist those "things" which most often display their "innate cussedness" are respondents. This chapter examines as systematically as possible the kinds of resistance which a sample of physicians in a metropolitan area displayed when they found themselves confronted with a mailed questionnaire. Certain words hold a value-laden symbolic significance for specific social groupings. One question which seemed to stimulate some strong resistance instructed the respondent to "Imagine that one could say all Americans are upper class, middle class, or lower class." Whenever it is necessary to use mailed questionnaires, a sizable proportion of nonreturns may be expected. In many cases these nonreturns may introduce a distinct bias into the research findings. There is of course a residue of nonreturns which will never be eliminated largely because of the lack of sufficient motivation on the part of certain respondents.
