UNIT 3: Toward A Liberation Psychology

Given the colonial background of the Philippine psychology, a psychology movement has evolved in the
country emphasizing:
1. Identity and National consciousness
2. Social awareness and involvement
3. National and ethnic cultures and languages
4. Bases and application of indigenous psychology in health practices, agriculture, art, mass media,
religion, etc.
SP as a Discipline centers itself to the Filipino culture and as a Movement, SP’s advocacy is to go against all
forms of oppressions.

Toward A liberation…
 A positive step towards the development of psychology in the country.
 With the advent of SP, there is less reliance on Western models in the study of psychology as it urges
Filipino psychologists to analyze and confront social problems, not from Western perspectives, but
from the indigenous Filipino viewpoint.
 There are limitations in the use of WEIRD (Western, Educated [English speaking],
Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) psychology in the Philippine setting. For instance, the
use of foreign psychological tests that haven’t undergone a standardized process to better fit
the Filipino culture. Another example is the indigenous practices found only in the Philippines
such as the Babaylan, Catalonan, and Arbularyo which the WEIRD psychology cannot fully
explain.
The Inaccurate picture of SP
 SP has been questioned as rather “nativistic” in orientation (Inordinate attachment to tradition and
allegedly backward practices of indigenous cultural communities).
 SP has been branded by avid adherents of Western social science models and approaches as rather
radical in orientation for challenging established psychology.
The Accurate picture of SP
 SP only seeks to put things in their proper perspective and check the imbalance resulting from
extreme reliance on Western models as basis for analyzing Philippine realities. This is not to reject the
WEIRD Psychology in explaining Filipino behaviors and cultures but to avoid the danger of blind faith
on Western Psychology which leads to a “copycat psychology”. This copycat psychology further
impacts the colonial status of the mind through:
 Marginalization –exclusion of local experiences

Prepared by: Laarni D. Muzones, MSPsy FIPSYC130 Filipino Psychology

  Distortion –thwarted understanding and beliefs on local experiences
 Alienation –removing psychology from the experiences of the ordinary Filipino (authenticity
of understanding psychology in lieu of the Filipino’s perspective is removed)
 SP seeks to explain Philippine realities from the Filipino perspective taking into account the
peculiarities and distinct values and characteristics of the Filipino with which the Western models
invariably fail to explain or consider.

Some methods in Gathering data on the Filipino Psyche

 Pagtatanong (“asking around”)
 Pakikiramdam (“shared inner perception”)
 Panunuluyan (“staying with”)
 Pakikipamuhay (“living with”)
These are in contrast to dominant methods of data gathering which fail to take into account the cultural
characteristics of the Filipinos, thus rendering the findings of such research questionable.

Indigenization of Psychology

 Sikolohiyang Pilipino is a product of indigenization of Psychology

 Indigenization –is a process of transforming psychology to reflect local cultures. Types of

indigenization:

• Indigenization from without –transforming WEIRD psychology to fit the Filipino culture. For
example, adapting psychological tests from foreign psychology and contextualizing these
tests to meet the demands of the Filipino culture.

• Indigenization from within –local culture as resource such as rearing practices, babaylan,
faith healing, kapwa, panunuluyan, and many others; integrating local knowledge systems
into formal psychological knowledge base.

 Indigenization from within and without both contributes to Sikolohiyang Pilipino

Three Primary Areas of Protest of SP

 First, as a Sikolohiyang Malaya (“liberated psychology”), it is against a psychology which perpetuates

the colonial status of the Filipino mind.

 The psychology of pagbabagong-isip (“reawakening”) is seen as a step toward the decolonization of

the Filipino psyche leading to the development of national consciousness.

Prepared by: Laarni D. Muzones, MSPsy FIPSYC130 Filipino Psychology

  Second, SP fights against the imposition in the Third World country of psychologies developed and
found appropriate only to industrialized countries. Such that sikolohiyang pang-industriya (“industrial
psychology”) is reconceptualized as an aspect of Sikolohiyang pangkabuhayan (“livelihood/economic
psychology”)

 There is a shift in theoretical and research focus leading to a change in the application of psychology
toward serving the undeserved. A return of the psychologist from the city to the rural village.

 Third, SP as a sikolohiyang mapagpalaya (“liberating psychology”) denounces an elite-oriented

psychology used for the exploitation of the masses.

Psychological Practice

 Sikolohiyang Pilipino draws from folk and indigenous practices and techniques, such as the Babaylan
or Catalonan techniques of healing

 Identifies and utilizes concepts and methods from local religio-political movements.

Sociopolitical problems, Ethnic Diversity and Neocolonialism

 Sikolohiyang Pilipino as a perspective, urges the Filipino psychologist to confront social problems and
national issues as part of his responsibility.

Issues Considered in Sikolohiyang Pilipino

 What language to use in psychology research, teaching, and publication: Pilipino or Filipino?

 With the revised 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippines has now two official languages
namely Filipino and English.

 Delineation of the “Filipino” in Filipino psychology. Giving regards to all people living in the Philippines
and calling them as Filipinos regardless whether they belong in a major ethnic groups or minority
groups.

 Ethnic diversity –the distinction in culture(s) of the Filipinos provide a challenge to psychological
research and a rich base for a truly national culture.

Cultural Revalidation and Theoretical Reorientation

 Sikolohiyang Pilipino as an optional subject was instituted and offered for the first time at the
undergraduate level in UP in 1978.

 Jose Ma. Bartolome who first taught the course, was painfully aware of the slow pace of theoretical
reorientation

Prepared by: Laarni D. Muzones, MSPsy FIPSYC130 Filipino Psychology

  Later, they found that the course is meant for psychology majors who must be shown the scope and
limits of a psychology based on Filipino culture and experience.

 The excitement of rediscovery motivated the identification and development of culturally relevant
psychological concepts such as kapwa (“shared identity”) and pakikiramdam (“shared inner
perception”)

Training third world psychologists

 Favored with an international outlook, SP is committed to training Filipino scholars in other parts of
the globe.

 The basic sikolohiyang Pilipino training programs are mainly focused on training of teachers to teach
the social sciences in Filipino and with Filipino and Asian orientations.

 Training workshops on indigenous psychological testing and Filipino values were developed
specifically for the industrial sector.

 Seminars on Philippine-oriented field methods were offered for researchers and community organizers
planning to undertake work in the uplands.

Reference:
Enriquez, Virgilio G. (2010). From Colonial to Liberation Psychology: The Philippine Experience. UP
Press. Centennial Publications.

Prepared by: Laarni D. Muzones, MSPsy FIPSYC130 Filipino Psychology