Filipino Psychology Manuscript (raw and unedited)

Filipino Psychology Manuscript

Chapter 1

The day is May 24, 2012.  If one were to read the newspaper headlines of this particular day, most broadsheets would contain these stories: Supreme Court Justice Renato C. Corona, Given an Ultimatum, Present CJ by Friday – Enrile, Jessica wows crowd in close “idol” finale, Lady Gaga rejects homophobia and hatred, Google buys Motorola for $12.5 Billion etc.

The headlines were lifted from Manila Bulletin and certainly, these current interests and happenings shaped and affected the lives of Filipinos directly and indirectly.

As of this writing, it is still not known whether the impeached Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Renato C. Corona would be convicted or acquitted.  The issue has been polarizing the country into two main contentions, those who favors conviction and those who sees conspiracy with the Malacanang Palace as the main author.  Surprisingly, pop superstar Lady Gaga also had a pair of concert in SM Mall of Asia and the typical objections of the conservatives (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups) are all out for the cancellation of the concert because of morality issues.

Historically, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was convicted by the Philippine Senate with overwhelming guilty votes.  When sixteen votes as the only numerical figure necessary for a guilty pronouncement, twenty senators voted to convict and judged him guilty.  A lot of political and legal reasons were forwarded to explain the overwhelming guilty votes, but in the realm of Filipino Psychology, the walk-out of the former Chief Justice while not yet excused by the Presiding Officer spells a grave insult to the Senate President as well as to the Philippine Senate as an institution.  Looking back with the benefit of hindsight and with the utility of Filipino Psychology, no other verdict is possible but a guilty verdict and that is just for the insult.  Never mind the legal and political rationalizations.

Western psychological models might find it contradictory that former president Joseph Estrada was convicted with plunder and yet his wife and son are both sitting as senators but in the realm of Filipino Psychology, there is no contradiction but just a simple case of love for the underdog, pity and forgiveness all rolled into one bundle of Philippine reality.

In the middle of all of these brewing storms is the unrecognized and seldom noticed tip to the iceberg, Filipino Psychology.

For the uninitiated, the question begging to be answered would be just what is Filipino Psychology?  A quick search in the internet (wikipedia as of May 1, 2012) would yield an answer of “the psychology rooted on the experience, ideas, and cultural orientation of the Filipinos”.

In a nutshell, Filipino Psychology is just your basic garden variety of “psychology” with a Filipino perspective.  If psychology is about the study of behavior, mind and spirit of man and animal then Filipino Psychology would be about the contextual study of behavior, mind and spirit of a Filipino individual.

The Birth of Filipino Psychology

The father of Filipino Psychology is credited to Dr. Virgilio G. Enriquez.  Though the concept and needs were already present and percolating long before Dr. Enriquez came into the scene, he is (hands down) the fountainhead of Filipino Psychology.

Dr. Enriquez posited that there is a need to examine any theory that comes from another country and that we must only put to use what is important and relevant to the Filipinos (Enriquez as cited by Pe-Pua, 1982).  Of all the many papers and books left by Dr. Enriquez, the thrust is always for the establishment of a unique Filipino identity.  A Filipino is always different from his Asian and European neighbors because of the relationship from which a single event or scenario is processed by a Filipino individual.

There is a relativity of a person, a place and a thing.  There is a flavor from which once extracted and savored, a unique Filipino perspective is born and created.   

Another notable Filipino psychologist in the person of Dr. Ma. Carmen C. Jimenez posited that an individual is separated from the society, that people are similar and that psychology as a science does not favor any set of values or society (Jimenez as cited by Pe-Pua, 1982).  An angry Filipino is no different from an angry Russian.  An emotion is similar regardless of nationality and that there is no such thing as a superior emotion that favors a particular tongue or color of skin.

Psychological theories and methods ought to be scrutinized and not swallowed blindly; in fact the examination and not just the blind acceptance of western theories pushed Filipino Psychology to create its own history, culture and language (Pe-Pua, 1982).  Prior to these historical contentions, articles in the 1970’s such as Mga Batayan ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino sa Kultura at Kasaysayan (Bases of Filipino Psychology and History) and Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Perspektibo at Direksyon (Filipino Psychology: Goals and Meanings) fanned the flame that resulted in the founding of the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino.  These was the formal birth of Filipino Psychology where Sikolohiyang Pilipino becomes not just a felt need but an academic discipline that is solely based on Filipino perspective, understanding, experience, culture and language.

The call and the need for the indigenization or for localizing psychology as a science was met, in fact, nowadays, no four year course is ever complete without  a general psychology or an introduction to psychology subject.  In the Basic Educational Curriculum of Commission on Higher Education (CHED), psychology as a basic subject offering is ever present.

The bigger question now how does Filipino Psychology stands with Globalization where the current buzz words right now is about convergence and the transformation is geared towards “one global village”.  The paradox here is that western psychology is limited; it does not answer the local quest of the Filipinos and the norms and call for innovation for explaining an indigenous phenomenon is ever present.

Thirty years (30) after giants of Filipino Psychology (i.e. Zeus Salazar, Jose Samson, Gloria Feliciano, Augusto Espiritu, Sonia Margallo, Ernesto Franco etc.) contributed heavily to the eventual acceptance to the formal arms and embrace of science, Filipino Psychology is again re-defining its uses and relevance in the everyday course of business of every Filipino.

Chapter 2

Filipino Psychology

Filipino Psychology is never static, more than anything else, Filipinos are adaptive and technologically savvy.  Long before texting became a worldwide craze or a killer business application, texting was already the preferred mode of communications for the Filipinos.

Principally, this preference for texting could be attributed to economic sense because texting is a lot cheaper than voice calls but you have to consider that People Power 2 was largely attributed to texting.  The Philippines and the Filipinos are the texting champions of the world, administration (e.g. President Joseph Estrada) have fallen because of texting and with the current advances of smartphones, who knows where this would lead the Filipinos.

Along with change comes the adaptations of the Filipinos and the prevailing psyche is again re-wired and values are re-routed to manifest an entirely new set and patterns of behavior.  By comparison alone, a person with a smartphone is far different in values and behavior as oppose to a person without a cellphone.

The difference would be more palpable when the different era of Filipino Psychology is pronounced and analyzed with the usual benefit of academic hindsight.

Filipino Psychology in the Pre-colonial Era

From hunting and food gathering to the planting of root crops to bartering, the Filipino Psychology has come a long way.  But the most important factor here would be that Filipino behavior was always focus and predicated on providing for the family.

The ancient Filipino family was closely-knit in terms of relationship.  The Family was usually an extended one.  The relatives usually lived in one habitation or in just one barangay.  The family was basically patriarchal, with the father as the head of the family and no decision can be made unless approved by the father.  The father was the breadwinner while the mother took care of the children at home.  The children on the other hand, were expected to obey their parents and other elder relatives.  Polyandry was common among the ancient Filipinos especially those who can afford to support more than one wife (Duka, 2008). 

Historically, Filipinos were one of the many tribes in Asia that thrived on hunting.  When they reach the territory that is now the Philippines, they started to shift their efforts and labor to farming, but the still the most important factor is the need and call to constantly provide for the family.  Though the pre-occupation was hunting and gathering of food, Filipinos then would leave the family, hunt for days (and months even) but always they return to the embrace of the nuclear family. As hunters, the primal need for survival is paramount universally, but the key for the Filipino Psychology is not just survival but the imperative longing to provide and care for the needs of the family.

Filipino Psychology in the pre-colonial era also calls of obedience and submission to the patriarchal rule of the father, right or wrong, it is still the father who calls and decides for the family.  The family is an extended family that could easily comprise a single barangay.

Filipino Psychology in the Spanish Era

According to Alvin Toffler, there are three historical shifts that shaped human history.  First is the agricultural revolution, second is the industrial revolution and third is the knowledge revolution.  At the onset, people were hunters and gatherers of food and for thousands of years, the cycle is that man chases the prey and in the central plains of Africa, Europe and Asia such is the main scenario.

The first revolution transpired when man instead of hunting, started to till the land and learned how to farm.  Now this simple shift in history is very significant because instead of hunting, man started to stake and claimed a territory.  It is because of the birth of agriculture that nations, countries and territories were born.  Along with this comes the development of unique languages, culture, customs, traditions and inclinations.

Similarly, the same is also true for the territory that would soon be claimed and named after King Philip of Spain (by Magellan).  Prior to the arrival and the so-called rediscovery of the Philippines, there was already a shift in the psyche and eventually a shift in the Filipino Psychology.  The concept and practice of bartering comes to fore, and along with this comes the longing to connect with the world.  Islam was introduced in the south, India and its numerous cultural influences were introduced in our numerous languages and beliefs and the Chinese were economically beneficial to the Filipinos in terms of trade and culture.

When the Spanish colonizers came, with their introduction of Christianity (Roman Catholic), it was nothing but just an extension of the need of the Filipino psyche to connect, evolve and enrich its spirit and culture.  Filipino Psychology then was ready and ripe to connect with the world, historically speaking however, such was an unfortunate inclination because such led to the eventual subjugation, exploitation and rape of the Filipinos.

The psychological model that was dominant was rationalism and reason, judgment, good and bad, right and wrong issues were usually settled favoring religious tendencies.

Filipino Psychology in the American Era

When the Americans came and stole the Philippines from the clutches of the Spanish colonizers, rational psychology was replaced by behavioral psychology as the main model of adaptation for the Filipinos.

Behavior in the form of action, reaction, manipulation, stimulus and response and what is directly observable is the new measurement and standard from which a Filipino is measured, directed and judged.

The Filipino psyche was anchored on freedom and liberty and while historically, there was deception and conspiracy, after three centuries of Spanish domination, the wind of change is calling and Filipinos were clamoring for change in whatever shape and form just as long as it was not a standard set the Spain.

Historically, nationalism is on the verge of coming out – unfortunately, the Americans and their clever policy of attraction halted the genie from coming out of the bottle.  Psychology as a science was introduced in the University of the Philippines and promising Filipinos were appointed Department Chairmen who in turned were educated in the US with their behaviorist bent thus cementing their hold of the Filipino psyche.

English was introduced as a medium of instruction as opposed to the Spanish policy of withdrawing the Spanish language from the reach of common Filipinos which ironically furthered the local academics in hastily embracing western psychology (or sikolohiyang kanluranin).  English as a medium of instruction turned the Filipinos away from the Spanish friars.

Hollywood psychology or the type of psychology that originated from the Americans started to take roots in the Philippines.  This in turn created an imbalance for western models for studying Philippine realities.

Filipino Psychology in the Japanese Era

With the onset of the Japanese occupation as the result of World War 2, the Filipino psyche as well as the Filipino Psychology prevalent at the time was afraid of engaging in productive occupation.  Because of the Japanese practice of economic confiscation, productivity came to a halt and survival mode was the prevailing practice.  People were afraid to engage in agricultural and economic productivity and the only profitable business then was the buy and sell business where the practice of buying low and selling high is the usual business maxim.

The Japanese occupation was extremely hard for the Filipinos.  They do not hesitate in the infliction of bodily harm and they do not shy away from the use of torture as a mode of getting their way.  Anyone caught or perceived to be not cooperating was tortured and killed right away regardless of station, age, and gender.  And in the middle of these are the collaborators and traitors who in turn pushed their own agenda of lording it all over again at the expense of the Filipino masses.

The unique use of comfort women for the recreational sex of the Japanese soldiers was one of the most deplorable practice and legacy of World War 2.  Hundreds of thousands of Filipinas were forced into this and coupled with the Japanese atrocities and wanton acts of brutality compelled the Filipino psyche to adapt once again so that it could survive this horrific era.

The operative concept is adaptability and survival and if one is unable to adjust to this mode, the chances of maintaining individual and collective equilibrium would be nil or would tilt towards maladjustments or other manifestations.

Chapter 3

Contemporary Filipino Psychology

The contemporary Filipino would be a far different Filipino from the era of the Spanish, American and Japanese period.  Today, in the year 2012 – Filipinos are creatures of convenience and seems to be shy or an enemy of inconvenience.  Filipinos today are educated, technologically adoptive and savvy in the ways of the world or how the world is operated.

Because of the Americans and their insistence on paper and credentials, Filipinos are highly educated formally and informally.  Because of the Spanish oppression, majority of Filipinos still consider themselves as religious but is beyond the dictates of the Roman Catholic Church.  Because of the brief Japanese occupation, and because of the brutality and of the notorious way that Filipinos were treated then, Filipinos are quick to adjust and adopt and largely have become a skeptic.

Hollywood America still plays a dominant role in what is considered valuable, ideal and desirable.  Beauty is still equated with being white hence the billions of pesos earned by snake oil salesmen about whitening products.  Though this could also be partially traced to the Spanish doctrine and misplaced belief that white is superior to brown skin, the democratization brought about by Hollywood America infused Filipinos that anything is possible given the proper cultivation and timely acquisition of chance and equality.  Anything that is imported is superior to a locally developed product, service or concept.  Some would even contend that Filipino Psychology is inferior to Western Psychology.

Contemporary Filipinos and their psyche is still moral in spite of the relativity of American morality – Filipinos still are easily swayed by appeal to pity and emotion, but of late have hardened their resolve because of the inherent possession of a questioning mind.  Filipinos in general now questions and doubts everything.  From an authority figure, to questionable territories or to unreliable and inaccurate internet.

The Internet is a rich source of models but Filipinos still exudes its own flavor and persona the moment it acquires a certain trait and gives it its own Filipino twist.

Sociology has a term for this phenomenon, acculturation.  And while such is true, such does not explain the fully this phenomenological bent of the Filipino Psychology.  The effect of the Internet is not yet fully felt by the Filipino masses but the forward stride is beyond measurement and description.  Access to the Internet, social media, news and its encapsulation and integration to the Filipino psyche is still on the initial stage and though such is still on the upswing, changes and more changes on the Filipino Psychology is still on the far horizon.

The Filipinos want more but at the same time wants to remain the same regardless of the technological advances.