Differences in Susceptibility to Influence in Mexican American and Anglo Females

Abstract

To further evaluate the hypothesis of relatively greater susceptibility of influence in Mexican Americans, 3OAnglo and 30 Mexican American females were given the task of responding to a select set of Rorschach cards together with eitheranAnglo ora Mexican American confederate. All subjects observed the card and wrote down "three best responses," after which they showed each other their responses. Then subjects were asked to once more give two responses and "perhaps" include something that they had not seen in their original observation Although Mexican Americans were not more generally susceptible to influence, they were more susceptible to influence when placed with an Anglo confederate. The findings throw further doubt on the general hypothesis of greater Mexican American susceptibility to influence. However, the results are consistent with the hypothesis of a tendency to greater conformity in members of a less powerful group when paired with members from a more dominant segment of society.