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The History of Philippine Psychology

April 4, 2013 Aleah 14 Comments

family

Family togetherness is a strong Filipino value.

The psychology of, about, and for the Filipinos was born out of the need to establish a discipline which is responsive to the needs of the Filipino people.

Generally, to some extent, it had been considered a given until a few years ago that when one talked about psychology, one meant the psychology of Americans. Asian psychology had been unrecognized, or at least, unacknowledged worldwide.

The Zeitgeist in Asian Psychology

Through the years, however, there was an awakening, a realization, by Asian psychologists that western concepts and theories were irrelevant and inapplicable when applied in the Asian context. They began to question the appropriateness of letting western social scientists describe and predict Asian behavior, without consideration for the differences between the Asian and Western cultures.

Thus was born the need for an Asian psychology, a psychology arising from one’s own experiences. With it, there was a movement as well by Filipino psychologists of the need to have their own identity.

The Psychology of, about, and for the Filipinos

Psychology as an academic discipline in the Philippines started in the early 1900s when the U.S. colonized the country. Scientifically, it was generally viewed as a continuation of the development of psychology in the West.

In the early 1970s, however, there came a turning point in the lives of Filipinos. It was a period marked by a high degree of nationalism, brought about by the declaration of the Martial Law. It was ironic that the father of Philippine Psychology was, at that time, a recent Ph.D. graduate of Northwestern University in the U.S.

It was precisely his Western education that made Sikolohiyang Pilipino founder Virgilio Enriquez realize the need to have a psychology based on the experience, ideas, and orientation of the Filipinos. Together with three other colleagues—Prospero Covar (anthropologist), and Zeus Salazar (historian), and Alfredo Lagmay (psychologist)—they helped establish the foundation for a psychology of and for the Filipinos.

Enriquez had been a professor of Psychology in the University of the Philippines in Diliman in 1963, but left in 1966 for the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. From there, he watched the disenchantment of young student activists in the Philippines over the deteriorating political and social conditions of the country.

When Enriquez returned to the Philippines in 1971, he embarked on a research study with Lagmay into the historical and cultural roots of Philippine Psychology, which included identifying indigenous concepts and approaches.

Four years later, he chaired the first national conference on Filipino Psychology. In this conference, the ideas, concepts, and formulations of Sikolohiyang Pilipino were formally articulated.

Sikolohiyang Pilipino in the University of the Philippines

When Enriquez returned from the States, he and a few other colleagues translated foreign articles to Filipino. The students were also strongly encouraged to write their papers in this language instead of in English, which had been (and still is) the medium of instruction in the University.

Gradually, more and more members of the faculty were convinced to use the Filipino language in teaching Introductory Psychology. The main problems they encountered in the use of Filipino in teaching psychology, especially in its initial years, included the lack of materials written in Filipino and the lack of a technical vocabulary.

These challenges were solved by translations, compilations of local materials, and choosing the appropriate words from the local dialect. There were times when the technical term was retained when there was no equivalent in Filipino. This did not work out because Enriquez realized that the translation failed to express a truly Filipino psychology.

Other factors were the difficulty of expressing or explaining some Western concepts and theories in Filipino, the negative reactions of students who sometimes felt that their skill in speaking and writing in Filipino was inadequate, and the students’ lack of fluency in the language.

However, there were observable benefits as well brought about by the use of Filipino in teaching psychology. Among other things:

  • It created better rapport between teacher and students
  • There was a more relaxed atmosphere in the classroom
  • The students’ confidence grew in expressing their opinions, thoughts, and actual experiences
  • A different perspective, which was more Filipino, was introduced into the course
  • Indigenous concepts were discovered; and
  • The scope of topics discussed became broader with the addition of information from local materials and experiences.

Class discussions also became more concrete in relation to Philippine reality. Psychology became related intimately and significantly to the everyday life of the people.

Most importantly, with the birth of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, a psychology with a Filipino orientation was developed.

The Status of Sikolohiyang Pilipino Now

Sikolohiyang Pilipino continues to thrive, despite the death of Enriquez in the early 90s. Its proponents continue to advocate for a psychology that is truly responsive and reflective to the needs and the unique situation of the Filipino people.

For more information about Sikolohiyang Pilipino, read an SP proponent’s paper on Indigenous Filipino Values. Read my paper as well on the Psychology of Bahala Na.

Reference:
Enriquez, V. (Ed.). (1990). Indigenous psychology: A book of readings. Quezon City: Akademya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino.

This article was based on a paper I wrote for my SP graduate class in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City. This was first published in Suite101.com on 05 December 2010.

Filed Under: Philippine Psychology Tagged With: Philippine psychology, Philippines, Sikolohiyang Pilipino

Comments

  1. Nessie Lou Lagura says

    November 11, 2013 at 3:04 pm

    Can you help me with my homework.. Who is the first filipino psychologist?

    Reply
  2. Aleah says

    November 21, 2013 at 4:40 pm

    Hi Nessie. I hope you found the answer to your question!

    Reply
    • grace banta says

      June 29, 2015 at 6:36 pm

      can you help me to find the timeline of industrial psychology in the philippines.. i cant find it.. please help

      Reply
  3. john says

    January 8, 2014 at 9:42 am

    hi can you help me with my my report….my report is all about Agustin Alonzo-the formal philippine psychology…i tried to search in google and search in library but i got small information…..plss help me!!!

    Reply
  4. Ian says

    January 27, 2014 at 4:35 pm

    Hi Aleah,

    I was wondering if you can provide some enlightenment on as to how Filipino Psychology is applied.

    I got as far as the medical-related application, but that’s all that I have.

    Hope to hear from you soon. And many thanks!

    Reply
  5. Dianne says

    February 7, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    Hello po, pwede po malaman full name nyo miss aleah? un background lang po kasi sa gilid nakikita ko. thank you po 🙂

    Reply
  6. Lourdes-Marie Padilla Schaefer says

    April 11, 2015 at 7:02 am

    This is in response to the claim that Philippine Psychology was started by Mr. Enriquez in 1975.

    Philippine Psychology has existed at the University of the Philippines since 1930 when my father Dr. Sinforoso G. Padilla returned to the Philippines after receiving his PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan. He was Dean of Men at UP and also head of the department of Psychology.

    He also with his colleagues from UP established the Philippine Psychological Association. Since this was all in the 1930s there
    is no way Enriquez can call himself the “Father of Philippine Psychology.” That Title actually belongs to my father who also during his tenure at UP wrote the first Philippine Self-administering Intelligence Test.

    I think if this subject had been researched properly before allowing it to be published one may see how backwards they make the Philippines look.

    My father’s students were earning MS and PhD at UP probably even before Enriquez was born. If he is still alive one could check with Dr. Lagmay who was one of the Psychology Department Heads after my father.

    Several of the faculty of Psychology at UP were students of my father and they could also be consulted on this.

    Reply
  7. Lourdes-Marie Padilla Schaefer says

    April 11, 2015 at 7:15 am

    Additional comment: Dr. Alfredo Lagmay was one of my father’s students. This also shows that Philippine Psychology existed during his years as student at UP.

    Reply
    • Lourdes-Marie Padilla Schaefer says

      April 11, 2015 at 8:03 am

      I would like to make this correction to my earlier comments. The Psychology Association Of the Philippines was established in 1962. I still stand by the statement that my father was one of the founders and the first president of the organization. Drs. Lagmay and Bulatao were among those who were with my father in establishing this organization.

      I apologize for any misinformation I may have given but this is all from my recollections from my college years and the years I lived with my parents.
      I just wanted to clarify my father’s position in the history of Psychology in the Philippines.

      Reply
      • Aleah says

        April 12, 2015 at 1:35 am

        @Lourdes-Marie Padilla Schaefer: Thank you for taking the time to comment, Ms. Schaefer. This article is a revised version of an academic paper I turned in for my graduate class in psychology in the University of the Philippines.

        At the time I wrote this paper, I used the resources available to me which all pointed to Dr. Enriquez as the father of Philippine Psychology. I was aware that your father was the one who set up the psych clinic in UP, but I didn’t (and still don’t) know if he had a role in setting up Sikolohiyang Pilipino. That organization says that Philippine Psychology is more than just being a psychologist in the Philippines, it’s having the philosophy and the advocacy to promote a truly Filipino practice of psychology.

        In any case, I will get in touch with some of my old professors in UP to get their response to your comments. Hopefully they will shed light on this matter.

        Again, thanks for letting us know your thoughts!

        Reply
  8. Mary Co says

    March 2, 2016 at 3:43 am

    Hi Miss Aleah! 🙂 I’m a grade 9 student po from Cavite. Please help me po with my thesis about the topic,”Why are Filipinos slaves/strangers/foreigners in their own country?” This thesis is very important to me po. I’m finishing this po on or before Friday.. Please help po. This will be a form po of interview. 🙂 thank you very much po!

    Questions:
    4)Why are Filipinos forced to go abroad and are forced to leave their beloved home?
    5)Why are Filipinos slaves INSIDE and OUTSIDE the Philippines?
    6)How do Filipinos view themselves in a deep point of view?

    Reply
  9. Rhea says

    September 5, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    I want to know about the contribution of psychologist in the philippines!hope you can help me

    Reply
  10. Jim Stilwell says

    February 12, 2021 at 9:24 am

    I am trying to find information about my wife’s grandfather, Henry Schuler Townsend. It is my understanding that he was Head of the Department of Psychology at University of the Philippines in 1930s, and very active in Filipino Boy Scouts. Thanks

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Filipino Values – Indigenous Concepts in Filipino Psychology says:
    November 24, 2015 at 9:29 am

    […] to founder Virgilio Enriquez, Sikolohiyang Pilipino or Filipino Psychology is psychology in the Philippines, for and about the Filipinos. It has a number of concepts uniquely […]

    Reply

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About Me

aleah

I'm a mental health counselor with years of experience handling physically and sexually abused women and children. I have training in solution-focused therapy and child-led play therapy. I conduct psychological evaluations for children presenting with a wide array of symptoms and concerns.

I'm also a trainer specializing on domestic abuse, child sexual abuse prevention, and gender-based violence. As a freelance writer, I write about psychology, solo travel, and running.

If you wish to contact me, email me at aleahphils@gmail(dot)com, or leave a comment in any of the articles here. I will get back to you!

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