Indigenization

of psychology
in the
Philippines

Timothy Church and Marcia S. Katigbak

Washington State University, Pullman, WA,
USA
The status of efforts to indigenize psychology in the
Philippines is reviewed. We address progress in four
aspects of endogenization:

– Theoretical/ Conceptual
– Methodological
– Topical
– Institutional
Much, but not all, of this progress is the result of efforts
associated with the indigenous Sikolohiyang Pilipino
(Filipino Psychology) movement, which emphasizes:

– (a) the development of a Filipino Psychology that reflects the

unique experiences and orientations of Filipinos.
– (b) Filipino Identity and national consciousness,
– (c) explicit socio-political considerations,
– (d) application of psychology to societal problems,
– (e) the study of less elite Filipinos
– (f) interdisciplinary efforts, and
– (g) the use of indigenous languages in the development and
discrimination of indigenous psychology.
Several indigenous research methods have been described and
these methods typically emphasize the importance of the
researcher-participant relationship. There remain questions
about the objectivity and cultural uniqueness of these methods,
however, many of which involve:

– (a) unstructured conversations and discussions in line of structured interviews

– (b) varying degrees of participant, observation, or
– (c) qualitative phenomenological methods
Extensive topical indigenization is evident in studies that focus on
everyday Filipinos and Philippine societal concerns Institutional
Indigenization is reflected in courses, thesis and dissertations,
journals, books, conferences, and professional organizations with
an indigenous focus. Potential limitations or risks to the
indigenous movement include insularity and limited research
culture, Implications of the Philippines case for indigenous efforts
in other cultures are discussed.

Sikolohiyang Pilipino seeks to explain Philippine realities from

the Filipino perspective, taking into account the peculiarities and
distinct values and characteristics of the Filipino which the
Western models Invariably fail to explain or consider. (Enriquez,
1994)
Enriquez (1994a) distinguished between cultural validation of imported
concepts and methods to determine their relevance for the Philippines
and cultural revalidation of indigenous concepts and methods. In lieu of
the combined emic-etic approach, which seeks a comprehensive
psychology through a blending of the indigenous and imported,
Enriquez (1979) advocated a cross-indigenous approach in which
multiple indigenous psychologies are developed independently prior to
cross-cultural comparisons.
Although the SP movement has been at the forefront in efforts to
develop indigenous psychology in the Philippines, contributions in the
indigenous were also made prior to the full emergence of the SP
movement and by researchers who are not clearly associated with the
SP movement. In assessing progress toward the development of an
indigenous or “indigenized” Philippine Psychology, it seems unwise to
ignore these other efforts, although the extent to which they are
consistent with the philosophy and methods of the SP movement has
sometimes been controversial.
A number of authors have noted that indigenous can come from
both internal sources and the adaptation of elements of the
external sources, in short our review might best be viewed as an
analysis of the broader progress toward the indigenization of
various aspects of Philippine psychology, which clearly includes
but is not limited to the contributions of SP proponents.
Nonetheless we begin with an overview of general characteristics
of the SP movement because of its centrality in the development
of indigenous elements in Philippine psychology.,
GENRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
SIKOLOHIYANG PILIPINO (SP)

Enriquez (1994b) defined Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP, Filipino

Psychology) as a “psychology” based on the experience, ideas,
orientation of the Filipino.” Enriquez (1994a) outlined major
characteristics of SP which include:
– (1) principal emphases on identity and national consciousness,
social awareness and involvement, psychology of language and
culture, applications and bases in such fields as health practices,
agriculture, art, mass media and religion
– (2) principal methods of investigation that include the cross-
indigenous method; indigenous field methods; and multi method,
multi-language application of traditional experimental and
psychometric methods;

– (3) primary areas of protest against a psychology that perpetuates

the colonial status of the Filipino mind, the exploitation of the
masses, and the imposition of psychologies developed in
industrialized countries

– (4) a focus on psychological practice as applicable in the Philippine

context.
Another characteristic of SP has been its preferential on less elite
Filipinos, Salazar (1991) referred to the Great Cultural Divide in
Philippine society between educated, westernized Filipinos and the
Filipino masses, and Enriquez (1994a) argued that Western-oriented
psychology in the Philippines caters to the upper classes.

Historically, there has also been a strong interdisciplinary thrust in SP,

with the SP finding applications in, and being enriched by, art and
literature, religion and philosophy, law and politics, education and
agriculture and rural sociology.
From the beginning, a defining characteristic of SP has been the
use and development of the Filipino language for psychological
research and writing. Proponents noted that :

– (1) use of native language is consistent with an indigenization-

from-within approach
– (2) native languages are an important source of indigenous
constructs
– (3) the development and communication of an indigenous
psychological science may benefit from the use of native languages
– (4) reports written in native languages can reach a wider audience
and contribute toward the development of national identity.
THEORETICAL AND
CONCEPTUAL
ORGANIZATION
Indigenous Concept

– Researchers had already elicited traits and values using free-

response description of various persons or roles; analyses of
Filipino proverbs, folklore and other literature; responses to
projective stories; and ethnographic and survey methods with
children and their parents. Others identified personality concepts
while developing test or taxonomies of person-descriptive terms.
Filipino Concepts:

– Utang na Loob
– Hiya
– Bahala Na
– Pakikiramdam
– Sumpong
– Kapwa
– Kaluluwa
– Pakikisama
– Amor Propio
Concept of Pakikisama

– It is a salient value or trait of Filipinos

– Viewed by Lynch as an important means, along with euphemism
and the use of go-between by which Filipino achieve smooth
interpersonal relation which in turn is an important means of
maintaining social acceptance, a basic aim of lowland Filipino.
– Enriquez argued that pakikisama refers to only one of many levels
of interaction in Philippine Culture ranging from the uninvolved
civility of pakikitungo to the total identification of pakikiisa.
Kapwa

– For Enriquez, it is the core concept underlying Filipino

interpersonal behavior.
– It refers to the recognition of shared identity with others. A deeper
concept than the SIR. Pakikipagkapwa is the superordinate concept
that embraces all levels of interaction, it means accepting and
dealing with others as equal, treating them as human beings and
having regard for the dignity and being of others.
– Enriquez viewed kapwa as an encompassing interaction between
ingroup and outgroup members while Ramirz viewed kapwa with
behaviors toward ingroup only.
– Sta. Maria (1996) stated that conceptions of kapwa have relied
heavily on “speculation” and “unsystematic interpretations of the
concept rather than on research regarding how the concept is used
in everyday language and observed in everyday experience.
In attempting to move from a “Colonial Psychology to a
“Liberation Psychology” Enriquez countered purported
this four counterparts are parts of Enriquez Value Model.

Colonial/ Accommodative Confrontative Values Pivotal Interpersonal Value Societal Level Values
Values (Top Tier) (Top Tier) (Middle Tier) (Bottom Tier)

1. Utang na Loob 1. Lakas ng Loob 1. Pakikiramdam 1. Karangalan

2. Pakikisama 2. Pakikibaka 2. Kapwa 2. Katarungan

3. Hiya 3. Bahala na 3. Kagandahang Loob 3. Kalayaan

– Pakikisama, Bahala na, Utang na Loob, and Hiya may be equally
vulnerable to the criticism made of earlier value research-an
overreliance on ideological impressions and intuitions. (Tan,
1997b)

– Sta. Maria (1996) Enriquez’s efforts as symptomatic of

pangkaming or recreative syndrome, in which selected concepts are
elevated to the status of key values because they contrast with those
highlighted by foreign social scientist.

– Pertierra (1992) has also raised concern about a politically

motivated indigenous social science, in which “the task becomes
one of discovering or inventing national characteristics which
forward the national interest.
– Montiel (1991) used factor analysis to derive higher order value
dimensions, but the values analyzed were those assessed by
Rokeachs’s Value Survey, not indigenous values.
– Limited data for the personality concepts makes Church et.al to
develop a comprehensive taxonomy of Filipino trait emotion terms
and to investigate the dimensional structure of the domains in self-
report data.
INDIGENOUS THEORIES
Theory define as…

– A set of assumptions and constructs that are systematically related

to each other.
– Operational definition of the construct that enable them to be
related to empirical data.
– An evolving set of empirical prepositions which follow from the
theory and facilitate understanding, explanation and prediction of
phenomena in the domain of interest.
Indigenous Theory
– Assumptions, construct-operational definition and predicted
phenomena of the theory are themselves indigenous or have a
culturally relevant conceptual and empirical basis.

Indigenous Social Interaction Theory

– describes eight levels of social interaction ranging from more
superficial levels applied with outgroup members to the deeper levels
obtained with ingroup members.
Theory of SIR (Smooth Interpersonal Relations)
– Others tended to reject the theory as based on stereotypes,
colonial interpretations, limited understanding of the Filipino
language and limited data. This theory is influential during the year
1960’s and 1970’s.
– Sta. Maria (1999) proposed an indigenous person typology to
Filipinos, derived from the content analyses of relatively open
ended descriptions of self and others.
– Carandang (1981) describe a conceptual framework, termed the
Rubic’s Cube approach, which is less formal theory than a
framework for holistic and multidimensional analyses in studies
with Filipino children.
Four Dimension of Analysis:

– 1. The child as a total person, including intellectual, emotional,

physical, social, and moral/spiritual development.
– 2. The child’s developmental level.
– 3. The context of family, community, and culture and;
– 4. The child’s inner world or subjective perceptions.
Montiel (1997, 2000) and Briones (2000) applied ideas from an
imported model of personality and politics in constructing conceptual
models for Filipino political and peace psychology. Montiel also
discussed Filipino Cultural characteristics that may need to be
incorporated in imported models of conflict resolution.

Another example of adaptation or indigenization of imported theory,

Protacio Marcelino adapted a Western stress and coping frameworks
in her studies of children of political detainees and children
experiencing torture during armed conflicts.

Bernardo (1999) imported theories of number representation in

bilinguals, but further specified these models to more fully reflect the
bilingual conflict in the Philippines.
Tan (1997) combined Western theory on explanatory style with
indigenous conceptual analyses of bahala na concept to interpret his
findings on the contentment versus discontentment of poor Filipinos.

Western counselling theories also dominate in counseling research,

training and practice in the Philippines
– Salazar-Clemente (1991-1995) drew on Filipino worldviews and
conception of peace models for Filipinos which involve peace of
God. Methods advocated to help clients attain peace are standard
Western techniques.
Filipino Relevant Therapy

– Bulalao (1978) presented the therapy

– Transpersonal counseling
– Compatible with the group centeredness of Filipinos, their
tendency to prefer paternalistic counselors over non-directive ones
and their readiness to enter into altered states of consciousness.
– Pagdadala (Burden Bearing)
Burden bearning experience by Filipinos served as a metaphor or
model for counseling with Filipinos.
Model of Economic Counseling
– It integrates economic principles with traditional counseling
techniques.
Cost of theoretical Development may be considerable.
– Sta. Maria stated that “the indigenization crisis in Philippine
Social Science has not been resolved by SP because SP has not
determined how to systematize indigenous knowledge.

Theoretical and conceptual indigenization are inherently tied to

methodological indigenization.
METHODOLOGICAL
INDIGENIZATION

– Indigenous Instruments

Philippine Mental Ability Test

– Developed by Sinforoso Padilla and it is the first local test.
– Developed in 1950’s
Other test have been developed such as:
1. College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT)
2. Philippine Aptitude Classification Test (PACT)
3. Philippine Occupational Intrest Inventory (POIS)
Center for Education Measurement
– A testing and research center serving the private educational sector.

Example of more indigenous in content but has a Western Format

1. Philippine Indigenized Preschool
2. Primary Intelligence Test
3. Content Indigenized Subtest for rural children
– Velasco and Church et.al (1985) described the development of indigenous
rating scale that can be used to assess adaptive competencies of rural
preschoolers based on parents’ conception of intelligence.
– Diputado, Ladesma, Orteza, and Santillan (1993) developed a “de
Westernized” dementia screening scale.

In personality domain, projective tests have been developed:

– Philippine Thematic Apperception Test and the Philippine Children’s
Apperception Test both created by A.V. Lagmay. Both test has been used
to elicit values or concern of particular groups, rather than to measure
individual differences in personality.
– Family Welfare Cards and Crime Picture Interpretation Test by Jurilla
(1986)
– Other researchers used indigenous thematic content or sentence
completion test
– The two most prominent multidimensional personality inventory
are the Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino (Carlota, 1985) and the
Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao (Enriquez and Guanzon, 1985)
– Church, Katigbak, Reyes and colleagues developed indigenous
measures of personality and mood dimension using a
comprehensive lexical approach. They also developed a
multidimensional measure based on Filipino college students’
conception of healthy and unhealthy personality.
– Indigenous self-concept measures has been developed by Pasao
(1987) and Agbing (1988)
– Katigbak et.al. (2002) found considerable overlap between the
three indigenous inventories and the dimensions of the Five-Factor
Model. Such studies are consistent with a cross indigenous
approach to evolving a universal psychology.
Indigenous research
methods
– In 1975 Santiago proposed the first indigenous method called
pakapa-kapa (grouping).

– Torres (1982) described the method as “a suppositionless approach

to social scientific investigation…characterized by groping,
searching and probing into an unsystematized mass of social and
cultural data to be able to obtain order, meaning, and directions for
research”.

– In this method data were to be explored without the “chains of

overriding theoretical frameworks”.
Many indigenous research methods been explicated. Many of them
are associated with the research model of Santiago and Enriquez
(1982), which is comprised of two “scales”:
– Iskala ng Mananaliksik (researcher/method scale)
– -it represents a continuum varying from unobtrusive observational
methods at one end.
– Iskala ng Pagtutunguhan ng Mananaliksik at Kalahok (researcher-
participant relationship scale)
– -it is based on the Filipino view of the equality of this relationship
and the fact that it passes through different levels.
Most of these methods involve:
– Unstructured (though guided) conversations and discussions, often
in a small group context, in lien of more structured interviews;
– Various degrees of participant observation.
– A foremost assumption underly on these methods, is that the
quality and genuineness of the data obtained will depend on the
level of researcher-participant relationship achieved prior to data
gathering.

– Another goal of these methods is to reduce the power differential

between researcher and participant, with participants being treated
at least as equals.

– Other principles emphasize the welfare and ethical treatment of the

participant, method appropriateness over methodological
sophistication, and use of participants’ native language at all times.
A number of authors have questioned aspects of these methods:
– Church (1986) noted that pakapa-kapa (groping) may be sensible
during an initial “bootstrapping” or data generation phase of
research.

– Sevilla (1982) noted that further investigation and explication is

needed.

– Margallo (1981) saw subjectivity and a higher probability of data

contamination as the most basic difficulties with the methods.

– In recent years, the use of qualitative phenomenological methods

has increased substantially.
TOPICAL INDIGENIZATION

In the Philippines it has generally taken two forms:

– Calls for studies of non-elite or “everyday” Filipinos and their
behaviors and ideas;
– Calls for research on applied topics that address societal needs and
problems.
Other popular applied topics include families, married life, and
children, gender psychology stress and coping in various groups, and
applied cognitive and educational topics related to learning, problem-
solving, and bilingualism.
Filipino political psychology provides a particularly good example of
topical indigenization.

It has been accompanied by either theoretical or methodological

indigenization
INSTITUTIONAL
INDIGENIZATION

Considerable progress has been made in the development of

institutional structures and processes in the Philippines that support
the creation and diffusion of indigenous psychological knowledge.

Courses and Curricula

At the University of the Philippines, efforts to teach psychology
courses in Filipino began around 1970.
Other landmark events and dates include the following:

– the first psychology master’s theses at the University of the

Philippines written in Filipino (1972);

– the first elective undergraduate course and the first permanent

graduate level course on Filipino psychology at the University of
the Philippines (1978);

– the first compilation of papers on Filipino psychology made

available for student use (1982);

– the first psychology textbook using the Filipino language and

Philippine materials published at Centro Escolar University (1983);
– the first course in Filipino Psychology as an integral part of an
undergraduate curricula, at the University of Santo Tomas (1987);

– the first two psychology doctoral dissertations written in Filipino at

the University of the Philippines (1990);

– and the first graduate of the doctoral concentration in Philippine

Psychology at the University of the Philippines (1994).
– According to Gaerlan (1996), by 1994-1995 “Filipino was still
used to teach Sikolohiyang Pilipino and a few other courses. [but]
English was predominantly used for teaching other areas pf
psychology which were dominated by Western concepts”.

– The limited integration of Western and Filipino perspectives is

suggested by the following observations:
– Filipino psychology tends to be taught as a separate course
alongside standard (Western) courses in general psychology,
personality psychology, experimental psychology, and so forth;
– although Filipino psychology courses are taught in the Filipino
language, most other psychology courses are not;
– Filipino psychology seems to be treated as a distinct topic area.
– In the early 1980s that introductory textbooks written by Filipinos
included substantial references to Filipino psychological studies
and concepts.
– Sibayan (1994) expressed the view that Filipino is not yet an
intellectualized language that can be used without difficulty for this
purpose.
Journals and Organizations

– The organization most closely linked to the SP movement in the

Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino (PSSP; National
Association for Filipino Psychology), which has annual
conferences since 1975.
– The other major general psychological organization, the
Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP), also holds
annual conferences and the presentation are English.
– The Philippine Journal of Psychology, the journal of PAP, is also
published in English.
– Two counselling organizations with strong Filipino involvement-
the Philippine Association for Counselor Education, Research and
Supervision (PACERS) and the Association of Psychological and
Educational Counselors of Asia (APECA).
– The Philippine Psychology Research and Training House (PPRTH),
founded in 1971, is a base for research and training activities and a
repository for SP materials with more than 10,000 references.
Potential Pitfalls and
Limitations

To what extent do they characterize

indigenization efforts in the Philippines?
Polemelic and cosmetic
indigenization

– (Adair, 1992) noted a "bandwagon" tendency in developing

countries.
– More talk than action is cosmetic indigenization. (Sinha, 1993).
– Continuing tendency to "dwell on slogans." (Sta. Maria, 1996).
– There have been clear examples of polemelic language and
uncritical rejection of Western models and concepts.
Anti-scientific tendencies

– (Sinha, 1997), criticized the uncritical eulogizing and speculative

views about indigenous psychological knowledge derived from
traditional religions, philosophies, and folklore, "whose only claim
to validity is their ancient origin."
– Some have questioned the scientific nature of SP. (Pe-Pua and
Protacio-Marcelino, 2000).
– One serious threat to the scientific objectivity of SP may be the
substantial influence of sociopolitical factors.
– SP philosophy of science is now demanding than its Western
counterpart.
– It not only requires empirical demonstration of katatagan
(replicability and reliability) and katapatan (multiple operationism
and validity) but also requires that the results be authentic
(externally valid), affirmed by participants, and attested to by
concerned nonparticipants.
Insularity

– (Sinha, 1997), the "goal of indigenization is not parochialism in

psychology, but the development of 'appropriate' psychology."
– Previous literature and models are sometimes ignored when
studying an indigenous phenomena, at least until after the data have
been collected and interpreted, so as not to be biased by Western
perspectives. (Torres, 2018).
– The insistence by some authors that only native languages be used
to disseminate SP ideas and research.
– The need for Filipinos to evolve their own internal or "inside
perspective" (pantayong pananaw), which is achieved, in part, by
communicating in the Filipino language and avoiding the goal or
tendency to explain Filipino behavior or psychology to those
outside the culture using the English language. (Salazar, 1991).
– Increasing tendencies in the 1990s to get away from the exclusive
use of Filipino in SP writings and to publish works in English, in
part, for a foreign audience. (Javier, 1996).
– How will indigenous psychology evolve as an independent
psychology without the risks and costs of insularity?

– Exclusive use of Filipino will probably be harmful in the long run

because it will exclude the perspectives of social scientists who are
more distant from the culture. (De Raedt, 1982 & Rood, 1985).
They argued that a combination of insider and outsider perspectives
is optimal in avoiding metatheoretical biases.

– An insular SP may become scientifically inefficient, if not

misleading, by (1) ignoring or rejecting aspects of imported
psychologies that might be applicable in the Philippines; (2)
"reinventing" theories or repeating mistakes already made
elsewhere; or (3) overstating the cultural specificity of concepts or
methods that may be universal.
Limitations of the research culture

– Some factors that inhibit the development of indigenous Filipino

psychology are not specific to indigenous approaches, but involve
the research culture more generally.
– Structural constraints include the limited resources for research.
– Many SP proponents have gone abroad as migrants or students,
reducing the critical mass of SP brain drain of uncertain long-term
impact.
– Small critical mass of researchers, along with some hesitancy to
criticize others' work, has limited academic criticism and exchange
and the development of a peer-review system, both of which could
contribute to the resolution of indigenous psychology issues.
(Bernardo, 1997 & Sta. Maria, 1996).
– Most of the empirical research are done by students for papers,
theses, and dissertations, and that little odd these researches are
continued or published. (Bernardo, 1997; Sta. Maria, 1996;
Ventura, 1985).
– Results of many funded research projects are also not widely
disseminated beyond the funding agencies, in which it's been
concluded that publication is not a very good indicator of research
activity in the Philippines. (Bernardo, 1997).
– SP process has been too closely tied to organizational activities
rather than the research programs of individual psychologists or the
psychological community as a whole.

– Research itself was criticized of its descriptive, atheoretical, and

nonprogrammatic nature. (Bernardo, 1997 & Sta. Maria, 1996).