Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology)

• Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) is rooted in the experiences, thoughts, and orientation of Filipinos.
• It thoroughly uses Filipino culture and language.
• The approach of Sikolohiyang Pilipino involves "indigenization from within".
• Theoretical frameworks and methodologies come from the experiences of the indigenous culture.
• It assesses historical and socio-cultural realities.
• It understands the local language.
• It unveils Filipino characteristics.
• It explains these characteristics with the native Filipino perspective.
• Filipino behavior was often analyzed using Western theories, which led to inaccuracy.
• Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez defined Sikolohiyang Pilipino in 1985 as the study of "diwa" ('psyche').
• "Diwa" in Filipino relates to philosophical concepts of 'essence', psychological concepts from awareness, and motives to behavior.
• Initial efforts to develop Sikolohiyang Pilipino focused on indigenization that includes simple translation into Filipino.
• Cultural revalidation seeks indigenous psychology from within the culture itself.
• The main emphasis of Sikolohiyang Pilipino is to promote national identity, consciousness, social involvement, and psychology of language and culture.
• It applies to health, agriculture, art, mass media, religion, and other aspects of daily life.
• Academic psychology in schools was mostly Western in theory and methodology.
• José Rizal and Apolinario Mabini were not happy with Western interpretations of Filipino behavior.
• In the 1960s, Filipino intellectuals noticed the inadequacy and unfairness of Western approaches to psychology.
• In the early 1970s, Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez introduced the concept of Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
• Dr. Alfredo V. Lagmay and Enriquez researched the historical and cultural roots of Philippine Psychology.
• They created a two-volume bibliography on Filipino psychology and a personality test called Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao.
• In 1975, Enriquez led the first national conference on Filipino Psychology, where ideas and concepts were articulated.

Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez

• Virgilio Gaspar Enriquez was born in Bulacan.
• His father taught him to speak the native tongue fluently.
• He formally began studying psychology in 1963 at the University of the Philippines (U.P.).
• He got a Masters and Ph.D. in Psychology from Northwestern University in Illinois.
• In 1971, Enriquez returned to the Philippines and did not impose Western knowledge on his Filipino colleagues and students.
• He established the Philippine Psychology Research House (PPRH).
• Enriquez chaired the Department of Psychology from 1977-1982.
• He motivated students to write papers in Filipino to discover ethnic concepts.
• Enriquez also taught at De la Salle University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, University of Santo Tomas, and Centro Escolar University.
• He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii, Tokyo University for Foreign Studies, University of Malaya, and University of Hong Kong.
• Enriquez authored publications and received awards both locally and internationally.
• He contributed to the awareness of Sikolohiyang Pilipino and Asian psychology.
• Enriquez received the Outstanding Young Scientist award in 1982.
• He was posthumously awarded the National Achievement in the Social Sciences Award in 1997.
• Enriquez defined psychology with the study of emotions, experienced knowledge, awareness of surroundings, information, understanding, habits, behavior, and the soul.

Four Filiations of Sikolohiyang Pilipino

• Academic-scientific Psychology is the Western tradition that coincided with the birth of scientific psychology (German tradition) in 1876.
• English is used as the mode of instruction and is considered a tool for colonization.
• Academic-philosophical psychology is the Western (mainly clerical) tradition.
• It was pursued by the University of Santo Tomas and other schools under monks, preachers, and Jesuits.
• Psychology is integrated into medicine and philosophy.
• Ethnic psychology is the basis of Sikolohiyang Pilipino for integrating academic, scientific, and philosophical traditions.
• Three levels of Ethnic Psychology include indigenous psychology, psychology of Filipinos, and the practice of psychology by Filipinos.
• Indigenous psychology comes from language, culture, and literature.
• Psychology of Filipinos observed by foreigners, is mainly based on Western thought.
• The practice of psychology by Filipinos includes enculturation/socialization, child-rearing techniques, and ancient group therapy.
• Psycho-medical system with religion is considered the core of native Filipino psychology.
• It involves faith healing through the espiritista movement.

Major characteristics

• Sikolohiyang Pilipino emphasizes identity and national consciousness, social awareness, psychology of language, and applications in health, agriculture, art, mass media, and religion.
• It encourages cross-indigenous, multi-method, multi-language, appropriate field methods, and total approach.
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino opposes psychology that maintains the Filipino mind's colonial status.
• It is against a psychology that exploits the masses and the imposition of psychologies developed in industrialized countries.
• It endorses the conceptualization of psychological practice in a Philippine context.
• It considers folk practices and indigenous techniques of healing along with religio-political movements.
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino addresses both science and humanism.
• It admits mentalism and behaviorism but emphasizes collective over individual experience.
• The analysis-wholeness issue is not a big issue.
• Sikolohiyang Pilipino is not inconsistent with universal psychology.

Emphases of Sikolohiyang Pilipino

• Identity and National consciousness
• Social awareness and involvement
• National and ethnic cultures and languages
• Bases and application of indigenous psychology in health practices, agriculture, art, mass media, religion, etc.

Sikolohiyang Pilipino is rooted in the experiences, thoughts, and orientation of Filipinos, thoroughly using Filipino culture and language. It involves indigenization from within, with theoretical frameworks and methodologies from the indigenous culture. It assesses historical and socio-cultural realities to understand Filipino characteristics.