Sikolohiyang Pilipino

• Proponent

  Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez
• Year proposed

  1975
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino

  Focused on the realities of Filipino culture, its language and uses, and the characteristics of a Filipino
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino aims to study

  (1) Emotions and experienced knowledge (Kalooban at Kamalayan), (2) Awareness of one’s surroundings (ulirat), (3) Processing of information (isip), (4) Habits and behaviors (diwa), (5) and the soul (kaluluwa)
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino promotes…

  Use of different languages and approaches through appropriate and cross-referencing methods
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino nurtures…

  Both artistic and scientific stances. It well interprets the collective experiences of Filipinos with shared cultural backgrounds and traditions.
• Enriquez believes that ”In order to understand universal psychology, one must understand their own, contributing to universal psychology”
• Two definitions / perceptions of the Filipino attitude: “Bahala Na”

  (1) Accepting sufferings and problems, leaving everything to God. (2) Last attempt to express encouragement to oneself after exerting a great amount of effort for a expected situation.
• Filipino Value of “Hiya”

  (1) The uncomfortable feeling of being in socially awkward situations. (2) It denotes a negative emotion. (3) Hiya is a root word that transforms meaning based on the affixes used. (4) Hiya can be used to express embarrassment, shyness, and awkward situations.
• Filipino Value of “Utang na Loob”

  (1) “Debt of gratitude” or “The Principle of Reciprocity” (2) In the Filipino context, it is an enactment of gratitude and solidarity that can be passed on to future generations.
• Many other Filipino values and ideologies that are directly translated into foreign languages are often only interpreted at their surface levels.


  Examples of these are: pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa, Sama o lakas ng loob, pakikibaka, pakikiramdam, karangalan, at katarungan
• [Debates on SP] Zeus Salazar

  (1) Filipino Americans should not be called Filipinos because of their limited exposure to Filipino culture and therefore considered outsiders. (2) Psychology is foreign and that it should be analyzed in the lens of a Filipino to develop new concepts and theories
• [Debates on SP] Enriquez

  (1) Even though Fil-Ams are not fully Filipino, they still bear identity, traditions, and experiences that are still Filipino. (2) There is already an existing psychology in the Philippines and these indigenous elements just need to be examined, analyzed, and interpreted.
• [Debates on SP] Robert Tangco

  Claimed that SP has yet to prove its scientific contribution to the existing body of knowledge
• [Debates on SP] Sylvia-Estrada Claudio

  SP has the tendency to focus on the negative aspects of Filipino culture. It must move past its phenomenological approach and reexamine its methodology.
• [Debates on SP] Grace Orteza

  Improvements were made after Enriquez death, such as the updating the understanding of pakikipagkwentuhan. Instead of it only occurring during discussion of sensitive issues, Orteza updated that pakikipagkwentuhan can be done at any possible time.
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino may not be perfect but it is a step to understanding Filipinos’ culture, traditions, beliefs, lifestyle. It will continue to develop as the years pass by.
• Results of study

  (1) Kasambahays value katapatan, kalayaan, and utang na loob. (2) Amos value respect, malasakit katarungan. (3) Levels of interaction and values are indicators of a strong bond that allow amos and kasambahays to go beyond the initially formed contractual relationship