Pakikisama (companionship), pakikiramdam (sensitivity), and utang na loob (gratitude)—these are just some of the virtues that appear in Filipino culture. But through the lens of Western psychology, they are seen as a ball and chain for people. While they can be used to promote conformity and seniority, they are not inherently problematic. The way these virtues are often misconstrued is an example of how deeply entrenched Western psychology is in the Philippines.
Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP) is instrumental in combating this. According to Leslie Liwanag, an associate professor in the School of Innovation and Sustainability, SP is “a systematic and scientific examination of Filipinos, by Filipinos, for the Filipino people.” By decolonizing psychology and framing it in the Filipino context, SP can properly understand the experiences of Filipinos, especially those who are marginalized.
A look inwards
Virgilio Enriquez introduced SP in 1975 when he established the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino (PSSP) to protest the colonial notions of psychology. Deborrah Anastacio, the vice chair of the Department of Filipino, has attempted to trace the growth of SP in the country. Beyond translating and filtering foreign terms, she found that SP was also used to create a body of knowledge that is unique to Filipinos. Kapwa, for instance, is used to recognize the shared core values among Filipinos.
Years after Enriquez’s death in 1994, Associate Professor Darren Dumaop still observes a “revolution” taking place in the field. Enriquez’s former students entered the academe and stepped up to rebuild SP. Dumaop also notices a growing interest in the intertwined relationship between Filipinos and their faith—a key difference from Western psychology which typically separates the two as distinct concepts.
Presently, SP is evolving into a field focusing on what Dumaop calls the “great cultural divide,” where amid the stark socioeconomic divide of the Philippines, the marginalized masses hold onto the Filipino experience while the elites become Westernized. “Yung mga rich people [and] mga politician, minority yan in number. Pero pagdating sa power and wealth, sila yung power holder…so Sikolohiyang Pilipino is about that,” he explains.
(Those rich people and politicians are a minority in number. But when it comes to power and wealth, they are the power holder…)
A new center for SP
In the realm of academia, the University of the Philippines (UP) is seen as the primary hub of SP. Recent developments have also considered DLSU to be a center as well. The University achieved this status through its professors, who have imparted their knowledge to their students. As Liwanag points out, “Many of Enriquez’s students [who] were aware of SP came from UP and they taught or are currently teaching in DLSU.”
The University also takes pride in developing and promoting SP through its students and faculty. “Beginning in the first term of the next academic year, DLSU will reward publishing in Filipino journals,” Dumaop reveals. Searching through Animo Repository using the keyword “Sikolohiyang Pilipino” yields nearly 50 related research topics. Once DLSU’s new incentive takes effect, this number is expected to increase.
SP in DLSU is also taught as a service learning course, so students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real-life situations. Since it is the study of Filipino identity, it is not confined to psychology. In her experience teaching Komunikasyon ng Pananaliksik, known by its course code LCFILIB, Liwanag shares that she once handled a group of engineering and computer science students who wrote a paper about SP. “Marami pa ring students, not just coming from the Psychology Department, but from other courses also. They would like to contribute to that specific discourse.”
Anastacio adds, “Lalo na kinikilala ng SP na isang inter-multidisciplinary na hindi na lang ito eksklusibo lang sa mga sikolohista kundi ito ay pag-aaral ng mga scholar.” The PSSP even created the journal DIWA to support the sheer volumes of research papers and experiments on SP.
(SP is increasingly recognized as inter-multidisciplinary, and it is not exclusive to psychologists as it is also studied by scholars.)
Moving forward
Still, SP may be well-established in DLSU, but not on a national scale. Despite existing for decades, SP faces numerous challenges that prevent it from being widely accepted in the country. Some of the concerns and criticism leveled against it are not new; even in the past, there were people who questioned its role as a discipline.
One of these critics is Full Professor Madelene Sta. Maria, who used to work for Enriquez as his research assistant. In a published conversation with Liwanag, she regards SP as an advocacy rather than a discipline because many of its core tenets—including its take on social psychology and cultural bias—are not unique to it. “[For Sta. Maria], it is not SP that owns the license for this kind of thinking,” Liwanag remarks.
This debate stresses how SP is still an emerging field. To facilitate its growth, Filipinos have to rethink how psychology is taught and create their own spaces for knowledge. At the same time, they must also confront the colonial legacy that has cast a long shadow over the country. This can be observed in academic journals, which often reward papers catering to Western audiences. “Many scholars are pressured by the current system in academia that in order for us to grow our career, we need to publish in Western journals,” Dumaop notes.
Language can be another hurdle. One of the most striking characteristics of SP is its emphasis on preserving the national language. It encourages people to explore how words like pikon, balikbayan, and the aforementioned kapwa reveal information about the self. But in the age of globalization, some may view Filipino as inferior to the supposed global language English. As a result, they may also fail to grasp the complexity and importance of SP.
To address these issues, Dumaop suggests offering financial incentives to researchers of SP. Anastacio and Liwanag also encourage other universities to form mentorship programs for these researchers. By improving local scholarship, Filipinos can abandon colonial mindsets about psychology.
“We cannot really depend on foreigners to articulate our surroundings,” Liwanag asserts. “So there’s no other way but Filipinos to actually write about ourselves. It’s about time we write about ourselves.”
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s June 2024 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSJune2024.
