Filipino Psychology & Language

• Identifying key concepts to understand a people's way of life, social psychology, mind, personality, or behavior is difficult.
• It is assumed that such concepts exist or can be created through concept formulation.
• The paper aims to identify an existing, meaningful concept in the Filipino national language for understanding Filipino psychology, rather than formulate a theoretical construct.

The Local Language as a Source of Concept

• Language is more than just a tool for communication.
• There is a clear connection between language and culture.
• Meaningful concepts for understanding a society are likely found in its indigenous language.
• The language of the Philippines is a good starting point for understanding Filipino behavior.
• The search for a key concept in the Filipino language should consider that it might exist in a non-Philippine language or not at all.
• Science faces the task of creating a language for understanding human behavior, and key concepts might not be lexicalized in native languages.
• Native languages are rich sources of concepts significant to local culture.
• Identifying concepts in Filipino important to understanding Filipino personality, worldview, and behavior was initially difficult.
• Literature contains concepts such as hiya, utang na loob, pakikisama, bahala na, and amor propio, already identified by American and American-oriented Filipino social scientists.
• Despite American orientation in Philippine social sciences and minimal use of Filipino language in research, teaching, and publication, some important concepts in understanding Filipino behavior have been identified in Philippine languages.
• The use of Filipino concepts and local language has led to the identification of supposedly Filipino national values.
• Frequently mentioned values:
  • hiya (sense of propriety)
  • pakikisama (yielding to the will of the leader or the majority)
  • utang na loob (gratitude)
  • amor propio (sensitivity to personal affront)
  • bayanihan (togetherness in common effort)
• Recognized regional values:
  • maratabat (complex combination of pride, honor, and shame)
  • balatu (sharing one's fortune)
  • ilus (sharing surplus food)
  • kakugi (meticulousness and attention to detail)
  • patugsiling (compassion)
  • kalulu (empathy)
  • hataggusto or pagbibigay (generosity)
  • paghiliupod (faithfulness in need or plenty)
  • pagsinabtanay (fidelity to one's promises).
• Majority of such concepts are "surface" concepts aligned with Western orientation, aiming to perpetuate the colonial status of the Filipino.
• Problems exist with token use of Filipino psychological concepts in a Western analysis context due to the mis-education of Filipinos and distortion of Philippine social reality.
• Kaut (1961) identified utang na loob as a key concept for Tagalog interpersonal relations.
• Utang na loob has multiple psycho-social concepts relating to loob.
• Examples include:
  • sama ng loob (resentment)
  • kusang loob (initiative)
  • lakas ng loob (guts).
• Kaut admitted that "debt of gratitude" is not unknown in Washington, DC.
• Americans recognize utang na loob but prefer kaliwaan or immediate pay-offs.
• Claiming utang na loob as a Filipino value is misleading and reinforces the colonial status of the Filipino mind.
• Contrasting socio-psychological implications of sama ng loob, kusang loob, or lakas ng loob to utang na loob is interesting.
• The text suggests fully using the language as the main resource rather than lifting one Filipino concept.

The Concept of Kapwa

• Interaction among people is a crucial aspect of social life.
• Analyzing social interaction in the Philippine environment reveals much about the worldview and character.
• Social interaction should be the focus of analysis in identifying kapwa.
• Filipino language offers conceptual distinctions among levels and modes of social interaction.
• Santiago and Enriquez (1976) identified eight levels of interaction:
  • pakikitungo (transaction/civility with)
  • pakikisalimuha (interaction with)
  • pakikilahok (joining/participating with)
  • pakikibagay (in conformity with/in accord with)
  • pakikisama (being along with)
  • pakikipagpalagayan/pakikipagpalagayang-loob (being in rapport/understanding/acceptance of)
  • pakikisangkot (getting involved)
  • pakikiisa (being one with)
• Distinctions among the modes of interaction have significance beyond conceptual and theoretical.
• Eight levels represent interactions from the uninvolved civility of pakikitungo to the total identification of pakikiisa.
• Levels of interpersonal relations are conceptually and behaviorally different.
• Santiago (1976) examined the language of food as the language of interpersonal relationship in food-sharing among the Bulacan middle class.
• Five behaviorally recognizable levels fall under two categories:
  • Ibang-tao or "Outsider" Category
    • Pakikitungo (level of amenities)
    • Pakikibagay (level of conforming)
    • Pakikisama (level of adjusting)
  • Hindi ibang-tao or "One of us" Category
    • Pakikipagpalagayang-loob (level of mutual trust)
    • Pakikiisa (level of fusion, oneness, and full trust)
• The domain of interpersonal relations is theoretically fertile and lexically elaborate in Filipino.
• Kapwa is a superordinate concept for understanding Filipino interpersonal behavior.
• It embraces both categories of "outsider" (ibang-tao) and "one of us" (hindi ibang-tao).
• Pakikipagkapwa applies to all levels.

The Meaning of Kapwa

• Filipino-English dictionaries translate kapwa as "both" and "fellow-being."
• The closest English equivalent of kapwa is "others".
• Kapwa means the unity of "self" and "others".
• The English word "others" implies the recognition of the self as a separate identity.
• Kapwa implies a recognition of shared identity.
• The concept of pakikipagkapwa is important psychologically and philosophically.
• While pagtutunguhan is another term for all levels of interaction, only pakikipagkapwa can indicate an idea, value, or conviction.
• Pagtutunguhan connotes a superficial level of interaction: the level of amenities.
• Pakikipagkapwa refers to "humanness to its highest level".
• A person starts having a kapwa because of an awareness of shared identity, not just recognition from others.
• The ako (ego) and the iba-sa-akin (others) are the same in kapwa psychology: Hindi ako iba sa aking kapwa (I am no different from others).
• When ako sees himself as different from kapwa, the self denies kapwa's status to the other.
• Brislin (1977) notes all cultures distinguish between the in-group and the out-group; the member and the non-member; the insider and the outsider.
• Middle-class Filipinos from Bulacan see the ibang-tao (outsider) as kapwa and also see the hindi ibang-tao (one of us) as kapwa.
• Filipino language has two pronouns for "we" because of the importance of kapwa:
  • tayo, an inclusive "we"
  • kami, an exclusive "we"
• Concepts indigenous to Filipinos have specific meanings closer to the Filipino experience.
• Jocano (1975) said he was saling-pusa (literally, left-over food for cats) at the First National Conference on Filipino Psychology.
• The term saling-pusa (figuratively, informal member) indicates the value attached to the feelings of another, to avoid hypocrisy in pakikipagkapwa.
• For example, if a young girl invited to an important gathering discovers she is a second choice, she may feel like a panakip-butas (literally "filling a gap").

Pakikisama or Pakikipagkapwa?

• Previous research on Philippine values identifies three "evil" characters in Philippine interpersonal relations:
  • walang pakikisama (one inept at adjustment)
  • walang hiya (one who lacks a sense of propriety)
  • walang utang na loob (one who lacks adeptness in reciprocating gratitude).
• Lynch [1964] proposes "smooth interpersonal relations" through pakikisama, euphemism, and go-betweens.
• Lynch may have only penetrated the highest level of interpersonal relations in the ibang-tao category, making him believe pakikisama is a value and overlooking other levels.
• Kaut [1961] identifies utang na loob as a key concept for Tagalog interpersonal relations.
• Hiya is interpreted as "self-esteem" by Fox [1956] and as "a painful emotion arising from a relationship with an authority figure or with society, inhibiting self-assertion" by Bulatao [1964].
• The attention given to pakikisama aligns with the mis-education of the Filipino.
• Constantino argued that the academician, as a recipient of mis-education, can be the society's mis-educator instead of professing new consciousness.
• Social scientists who unwittingly select pakikisama from pakikitungo, pakikibagay, pakikisalimuha, pakikipagpalagayang-loob, and pakikiisa reinforce skills sold to the elite and vested interests.
• These skills reward docility, conformity, and Western orientation, negatively impacting social protest.
• Pakikipagkapwa, not pakikisama, is a significant Filipino conviction.
• The social value of pakikisama is questionable, as people insist on pagkatao (dignity) and karapatan (rights) and reject conformity.
• Being unwilling to participate in corruption leads to being labeled hindi marunong makisama, and if not caring for docility, conformity, and Western orientation results in being called walang pakisama.
• Jumping to the conclusion that pakikisama is a Filipino value is understandable for a Westerner.
• Filipinos should marshal their knowledge as culture bearers to understand Philippine social reality.
• Pakikipagkapwa, not pakikisama, is the true Filipino value.
• Despite Western psychology's influence in the Philippines, Filipino's full use has identified pakikipagkapwa as more important than pakikisama.
• Barkadas disapprove of walang pakisama, but society rejects walang kapwa tao.
• Pakikipagkapwa is a conviction and a value, encompassing other modes and levels of interaction.
• Pakikisama is one form of pakikipagkapwa, but not vice versa.
• Pakikisalimuha is closer in meaning to pakikipagkapwa than pakikisama.
• The shock or disbelief towards someone considered walang kapwa tao indicates kapwa's importance in Filipino thought and behavior.
• People might accept "He will eventually learn" for walang pakisama.
• The proverb about someone who is walang kapwa tao highlights how bad the person is.
• Pakikipagkapwa as a conviction implies more than pakikitungo or pakikisama.
• Pakikipagkapwa means accepting and dealing with others as equals, regardless of status, role, or income; treating each other as fellow human beings (kapwa-tao).
• It encompasses a regard for the dignity and being of others.
• Pakikipagkapwa has a moral and normative aspect, with situations and relations changing based on the environment.
• Pakikipagkapwa opposes exploitative human transactions; giving a Filipino a bad deal challenges kapwa (-tao).
• The Filipino does not always concede and knows how to resist, even when seemingly powerless.
• Pakikibaka (joining a struggle) is a valid aspect of pakikipagkapwa in the face of injustice and adversity.
• The Tagalog proverb Madali ang maging tao, mahirap ang magpakatao (it is easy to be born a human, but to act like one is hard).
• Kung mahirap ang maging tao, lalong mahirap ang makipagkapwa-tao (if it is difficult to be human, it is even more difficult to relate to human beings).