FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY NOTES

Sikolohiyang Pilipino
o Anchored on Filipino thought and experience as understood from a Filipino perspective
o Its ultimate aim is to contribute to universal psychology
o The principal emphasis is to foster national identity and consciousness, social involvement, and psychology of language
and culture.
o Its philosophical antecedents include:
(a) empirical philosophy, academic-scientific psychology, the ideas and teachings of Ricardo Pascual, logical
analysis of language;
(b) rational philosophy, the clerical tradition, phenomenology, Thomistic philosophy and psychology; and
(c) liberalism, the Philippine propaganda movement, the writings of Philippine heroes Jacinto, Mabini and del Pilar,
ethnic psychology.
o As principal methods of investigation, Sikolohiyang Pilipino encourages:
Cross-indigenous method
multi-method multi-language approach
appropriate field methods
total approach (triangulation method)

BRIEF HISTORY OF FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY

In the Philippines, Psychology as an academic discipline has been introduced during the early 1900s under the American
Occupation. In 1970s, Virgilio G. Enriquez ignited the rise of Filipino Psychology as an indigenous viewpoint in Psychology by
questioning the validity of using the western psychological concepts advocating for “Sikolohiyang Pilipino” that would be based in
the experiences, ideas, and orientations of the Filipinos. After the sudden demise of Enriquez in 1994, the field of Filipino Psychology
suffered from the danger of being discontinued since none of his followers appeared ready to fill in his shoes, but still, Filipino
Psychology thrived and rose to popularity.

BASIC ORIENTATIONS
- The general form of psychology in the Philippine context
1. Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas - Can be viewed in the history of Psychology as a widespread
(Psychology in the Philippines) discipline.

- The science of theorizing about the psychological nature of the

2. Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino Filipinos, whether from a local or a foreign perspective
(Psychology of the Filipinos) - Can be viewed in Filipino culture and experiences.

- Defined as the indigenous and unique form of psychology that

3. Sikolohiyang Pilipino the Psychology in the Philippine aims to arrive at.
(Filipino Psychology) - Can be viewed through the interaction of the pure and unique
Filipino culture as well as the Filipino culture as influenced by
foreign cultures.

INDIGENIZATION
- Aims to re-examine and develop several of the psychological theories that were proposed as though they were
universally applicable.

Indigenization from within Indigenization from without

o Indigenous research utilizing the local’s own methods to elicit o Research studies applying western theoretical models
and study culture-specific social behaviors. and methodologies to the local setting.
o Cultural revalidation is a better term since ‘indigenization’ is
erroneous.
J. L. H; BLEPP 2019
 FOUR FILIATIONS OF SIKOLOHIYANG PILIPINO
(Zeus A. Salazar)
Salazar (1985) traced the history of Philippine psychological thought and identified four separate historical threads or
“filiations” across Philippine historical time. The following were his findings:

FOUR TRADITIONS
1. Academic-scientific psychology
(Akademiko-Siyentipikal na Sikolohiya)
2. Academic-philosophical psychology
(Akademiko-Pilosopiya na Sikolohiya)
3. Ethnic psychology
(Taal na Sikolohiya)
 The Western tradition
 Coincided with the birth of scientific psychology (German
tradition) in 1876, and the entry of Western psychology
(mainly American tradition) at Philippine universities
 The Western (mainly clerical) tradition
 Pursued by the University of Santo Tomas and later other
schools of higher learning, under the leadership of
individual monks and preachers and the Jesuits
 An aspect of philosophy continued in the tradition of
Thomistic
philosophy and psychology
 Major basis of Sikolohiyang Pilipino for integrating
academic scientific and academic-philosophical tradition
into a national tradition of Psychology and Philosophy as
universal disciplines.
 Includes the following:

Indigenous psychology
- common to the Filipinos, culled from language,
culture, literature, etc., psychological systems
worked out by Filipinos with indigenous
elements as basis)
Psychology of Filipinos
- as observed by foreigners or as felt and
expressed by Filipinos
The practice of psychology by Filipinos
- normal techniques of enculturation or
socialization, and protoclinical practice.

4. Psycho-medical system with religion  Cohesive element and explanation

(Sikolohiyang Siko-Medikal)  Religion is the sole basis and explanation of psychology and
medicine.

INTERNALITY-EXTERNALITY
(Zeus A. Salazar)

Salazar (1985b), through his analysis of indigenous history and culture of the Filipinos, points out the internality-externality
component in the Filipino personality:

INTERNAL EXTERNAL
Dangal - Honor from within – knowledge of one’s Puri - Honor which is physical (i.e. bestowed
true worth, character, achievement and through compliments or applauses)
success - Virginity which is a virtue expected of
unmarried Filipino women

Ligaya Saya

Timpi Pigil
Damdam Dama

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1. Core Value/Kapwa
2. Pivotal Interpersonal Value
3. Colonial/Accommodative surface values
4. Confrontative surface value
5. Linking socio-personal value
6. Societal values
Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez
Zeus A. Salazar
Carmen Santiago
Bostrom (1968)
Thomas Andres
J. L. H; BLEPP 2019
BASIC TENETS IN FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY
- Defined as togetherness and has two categories:
 Ibang Tao (“Outsider”)
o Pakikitungo (transaction/civility) – right behaviour meant right
demeanor towards authorities
o Pakikisalamuha (interaction with) – ability to adapt in social
situations
o Pakikilahok (joining/participating) – participation of the
community to help a person
o Pakikibagay (in-conformity with/in accord with) – being
willing to throw one’s own individuality away in favour of
conforming towards other people
o Pakikisama (being along with) – being united with the group
 Hindi-Ibang Tao (“One-of-us)
o Pakikipagpalagayang-loob – being in rapport, acceptance, or
understanding; act of mutual trust
o Pakikisangkot (getting involved) – act of joining others
o Pakikiisa – being one with others
o Pakikiramdam – the shared inner perception; a kind of “emotional a priori”; a
request to feel or to be sensitive to.
o Hiya – propriety/dignity
o Utang na loob – gratitude/solidarity
o Pakikisama – companionship/esteem; having smooth interpersonal
relationships
o Bahala na – determination; an adaptive coping strategy when faced with
difficult situations
o Sama/lakas ng loob – resentment/guts; being courageous amidst problems
o Pakikibaka – resistance; ability to undertake revolutions and uprisings against
a common enemy
o Kagandahang-loob (shared humanity) – being able to help others in dire need
as a result of the belief of united Filipino humanity
o Karangalan (dignity) - what other people see in a person and how they use it
to judge a person’s worth
o Katarungan (justice) – equity in giving rewards to people
o Kalayaan (freedom) – takes the form of individuality against conformity.
SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE/PERSONS/INDIVIDUALS
- Created Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao (Measure of Character and Personality)
- In 1975, he chaired the Unang Pambansang Kumperensya sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino
wherein the ideas, concepts, and formulations of Sikolohiyang Pilipino were formally
articulated.
- Established the Philippine Psychology Research House (PPRH) or Philippine Psychology
Research and Training House (PPRTH)
- Believed that it is in the cultural aspect where we witness a disparity among Filipinos.
- He expounded on affixation and hiya and showed the internal and external aspects of hiya;
- He asserted that the more appropriate translation of hiya in English is “sense of propriety”
- A friend and a critic of Virgilio Enriquez.
- A postgraduate student of psychology at U.P. who did a study on pagkalalaki.
- It was in her articles that the pakapa-kapa (‘‘groping’’) approach was first introduced.
- The first psychologist to analyze the value Bahala na by comparing it with American
fatalism.
- He defined bahala na in his Dictionary of Filipino Culture and Values as ‘‘the Filipino
attitude that makes him accept sufferings and problems, leaving everything to God.
 - He further stated that the attitude of ‘Bahala na ang Diyos (God will take care of us)’ is a
fatalistic resignation or withdrawal from an engagement or crisis or a shirking from
personal responsibility.
- He also described hiya as ‘‘an ingredient in why Filipinos overspend during fiestas in
order to please their visitors, even to the extent of going into debt’’
- In defining Utang na Loob, he defined it following Kaut’s logic, as ‘the principle of
reciprocity incurred when an individual helps another
Lagmay - He explained that bahala na is not ‘‘fatalism’’ but ‘‘determination and risk-taking’’

CULTURE BOUND SYNDROMES AND NATIVE HEALING PRACTICES

Culture bound syndromes, also known as “folk illnesses” are combinations of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are
considered to be recognizable diseases only within a specific culture. Moreover, these conditions/syndromes were considered to be are
and exotic, consisted of unpredictable and chaotic behaviour and the sufferers were commonly seen as uncivilized.

Examples of Filipino Culture-Bound Syndromes

Amok - A Malayan mood disorder, more aptly called “Austronesian Mood Disorder,” in which a person
suddenly loses control of himself/herself and goes into a killing frenzy, after which he/she
hallucinates and falls into a trance. Upon waking up, he/she would have no memory of the
event.

Bangungot - The person having this is believed to dream of falling into a deep abyss at the onset of his
death.

Filipino Psychomedicine, or sikomedikal na sikolohiya in Filipino, is the application of basic psychology to native healing
practices loosely considered as “medicine”. Examples of such practices include:

Native Filipino Healing Practices

Hilot - Use of massage to help pregnant mother manage discomforts experienced during pregnancy
and aides in the delivery of the child.
Kulam - A folk magic in the Philippines where earth (soil), fire, herbs, spiced, candles, oils, and
kitchenware and utensils are often used for rituals, charms, spells, and potions.
Lihi - This is practiced to prevent abnormality of a child when born, the intense cravings ( lihi) of the
mother should be satisfied.
Pasma - Caused by init (heat) and lamig (cold) occurring together within the body and manifests itself
with trembling hands and sweaty palms.
- The popular folk remedy for this involves coconut oil, alcohol, and urine.
Susto - A “fight sickness” or sudden intense fear wherein the soul will separate from the body and is
usually cured through ceremonial cleansing and sweeping or the drinking of tea made from
lemon or vinegar.
Pagtatawas - A method which referes to the use of tawas (alum in the diagnosis and treatment of a culture-
bound syndrome while the albularyo (faith healer) whispers prayers (bulong/oracion) to the
patient.
Usog - Explains how a baby mysteriously becomes ill after being greeted by a stranger and this is
prevented through the use of “kontra-usog” materials like beaded bracelets and the like.
- Treated by having an elder in the family to apply coconut oil or azete de manzanilla to warm
the baby’s belly.
Gaba/Gabaa - Visayan term for divine retribution, divine fury or karma and its opposite is grasya and may be
caused when a person steps on a punso or is brought by an engkanto,
- To reverse its effects, the patient is usually brought to an albularyo where an oil with herbs and
roots is applied to the body while whispering an oracion.

MODELS OF DATA COLLECTION IN THE STUDY OF FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY

Model Definition/Characteristics/Components
Self-Orientation The data collector and contributors relate to the other only to the extent of waiting
until the other stops responding.
Experimenter Orientation The data collectors appear to influence while the data contributors appear to be
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Reactive-Orientation
Mutual-Orientation
Researcher-Researchee Relationship
Other Filipino Indigenous Methods
J. L. H; BLEPP 2019
influenced.
The participants in the data collection are reacting to what is currently taking place
between them.
The data collector and contributor give something to, and gain something from the
data collection.
The level of interaction between the researcher and the researchee significantly
determined the quality of the data obtained. There are 2 categories and 8 levels of
interaction:
A. Ibang-Tao Category (Outsider)
1. Pakikitungo (amenities, civility) – the researcher has transaction or
civility with the participants.
2. Pakikisalamuha (interaction) – the researcher interact with the
participants or kalahok.
3. Pakikilahok (participation, joining) – the researcher participates in the
activities of the participant.
4. Pakikibagay (conforming) – the researcher has to act in accordance
with/level of conforming to the values, beliefs, and culture of the
participants.
5. Pakikisama (adjusting, being along with) – the researcher is adjusting
to the values, beliefs, and culture of the participant.
B. Hindi Ibang-Tao (One-of-us)
1. Pakikipaglagayan-loob (mutual trust) – the researcher is being in
rapport/understanding/level of mutual trust with the participants.
2. Pakikisangkot (active involvement) – the researcher has his deep
involvement in the activities of the participants or kalahok.
3. Pakikiisa (full trust) – the researcher is being one with/level of
oneness and full trust with the participants.
1. Pakapa-kapa (groping) – an approach characterized by groping, searching, and
probing into an unsystematised mass of social and cultural data to be able to
attain order, meaning, and directions for research.
2. Pagtatanung-tanong (improvised informal, unstructured interview) – the
researcher undergoes a kind of questioning session with the kalahok. In this
method, however, “lead questions” are not to be asked, instead the questions to
be asked are derived from the kalahok’s answer themselves.
3. Pakikipagkwentuhan (story telling/informal conversations) – the researcher
merely serves as the facilitator, while the kalahok or participants will mostly do
the talking.
4. Pagmamasid (participant observation) – the researcher just keep looking-
around and observing the participants or kalahok.
5. Pakikiramdam (shared sensitivities) – the researcher uses entirely his/her own
feelings or emotionto justify if his participants are ready to be part of the
research or not.
6. Pakikialam (concerned interference) – an approach that involves interference
with concern.
7. Pagsubok – the researcher start talking and working with the respondents or
kalahok.
8. Pagdalaw-dalaw (casual but repeated involvement) – the researcher
occasionally visits the house of the host or tulay, as opposed to staying in the
house.
9. Panunuluyan – the researcher stays in the home of the kalahok while he
conducts the research with the consent of the host family, whose head serves as
the tulay to an umpukan.
10. Ginabayang Talakayan Method – collective discussion technique
 CONSTRUCT OF FILIPINO PERSONALITY
Personality Dispositions A. Cardinal Trait: the core value known as Kapwa of being together with other people
B. Central Traits
o Hiya: sense of propriety
o Utang na Loob: norm of reciprocity
o Kagandahang-Loob: the shared humanity
o Pakikiramdam: shared inner perception
o Industriousness: working hard and steadily
o Family Orientation: family centeredness and family ties
C. Secondary Traits
o Hospitality: giving generous and friendly treatment towards visitors and guests
o Politeness: being courteous when talking to others and being respectful of the elderly
o Faith and Religiosity: prayerful and religious
o Joyous and Humorous: feeling and showing great happiness
o Resilience: being strong, healthy or successful again after something bad happens
o Resourcefulness and Creativity in tough situations
o Gratefulness: being thankful
Habits A. Mañana Habit: procrastination or the habit of postponing or delaying something
B. Ningas Kugon: enthusiastically starting things but then quickly losing enthusiasm soon
after
C. Pakikibaka: the ability to undertake revolutions and uprisings against a common
enemy
D. Kanya-Kanya syndrome: working independently
E. Passivity: lack of initiative in taking actions
Attitudes A. Valuing dignity, justice, freedom, and mobility
B. Bahala Na: “leave it up to God”
C. Lakas ng Loob: being courageous in the midst of problems
D. Colonial Mentality: preference of foreign goods, services, and even ideologies over the
local ones
E. Extreme Personalism
F. Fatalism: attitude of “what goes around comes around” or “come what may”
G. Crab Mentality: tendency to push each other down to clear the way for their own gain.

Major characteristics of Sikolohiyang Pilipino as an indigenous Asian psychology

Areas of protest
Psychological practice
Science-humanism issue
o Sikilohiyang Pilipino is against a psychology that:
- The imposition to a Third World country of psychologies developed in
industrialized countries.
- Perpetuates the colonial status of the Filipino mind,
- The exploitation of the masses
o Endorses the conceptualization of psychological practice in a Philippine context
(livelihood psychology > industrial psychology, health psychology > clinical
psychology)
o concerned with both (i.e. scientific and humanistic approaches are both valid)

Mentalism-behaviorism issue o Sikolohiyang Pilipino admits both but with lesser emphasis on individual
experience and with greater emphasis on the collective experience of a people with
a common bond of history
Orientation o Phenomenological but not anti-Western. It’s against a non-selective use of
imposition of\ Western knowledge

FIVE BASIC GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO THE USE OF INDIGENOUS RESEARCH METHODS

1. It is recommended that the first level under Hindi-Ibang-Tao, which is pakikipagpalagayang-loob (level of mutual trust,
understanding, and rapport) should be reached, at the minimum, in order to be assured of good quality data.
2. Research participants should always be treated by researchers as equal, if not superior – a fellow human being
3. The welfare of the research participants take precedence over the data obtained from them
4. The method to be used in a research should be chosen on the basis of appropriateness to the population (and not
sophistication of the method) and it should be made to adapt to existing cultural norms

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5. Language of the people should be the language of research at all times.

J. L. H; BLEPP 2019