THE FILIPINO SELF AND THE KAPWA

The Filipino Self in the Filipino Culture

Self-concept
➢ The Filipino self is a by-product of multiple social realities. There is multiplicity and
multidimensionality of the self-concept.
➢ Self-concept is not fixed or static. Our knowledge of ourselves is active and changing.

Determinants of self-concept
1. The roles that we play in everyday life (Burr, 2002).
2. The social identities we form as members of groups (Turner & Onorato, 1999).
3. The social comparisons we make when we compare ourselves with others (Festinger,
1954).
4. Other people’s perception of who we are and the culture that surrounds us (Cooley,
1902; Matsumoto & Juang, 2004). Charles H. Cooley described this as the looking-glass
self – our tendency to use others as a mirror for perceiving ourselves.

Culture defines the self

The self and culture are seen as mutually constitutive. (Fiske, et al., 1998). The individual
self develops within a particular culture that structures how the self thinks, feels, and acts. In turn,
the interaction of many individual selves transforms the cultural system.

Individualist and Collectivist Cultures

▪ Individualist culture emphasizes that people are independent of their groups. The self
is defined as an independent entity. In here, a person must clearly articulate one’s goals.
Personal goals are seen as more important than the goals of the ingroup.
▪ Collectivist culture emphasizes the interdependence among people. The self is defined
in terms of primary ingroups or relationships. Collectives or groups, such as the family,
tribe, work group, or nation. In here, a person’s goals are defined according to one’s
social roles, with the goals of the ingroup more important than one’s own goals.

Independent/Separated and Interdependent/Relational Selves

▪ The Separated Self arises from a culture of separateness wherein cultural and
interpersonal relations are between separate selves. The self is self-contained,
independent, and defined by clear boundaries.
▪ The Relational Self emerges from a culture of relatedness wherein cultural and
interpersonal relations are between overlapping selves. The self is relational,
interdependent with fluid boundaries.
▪ The Independent Self is defined by unique internal attributes, such as traits and
dispositions, that are independent of one’s context. Emphasis is on the individual’s own
thoughts, feelings, and actions rather than that of others.
▪ The Interdependent Self sees the self-in-relation-to-others as the focus of individual
experience rather than the independent self. Its goal is to maintain interdependence
among individuals and requires seeing oneself as part of social relationships or a larger
social unit. Emphasis in on knowing the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others in these
relationships.

The Filipino self is generally characterized as relational and interdependent. The Kapwa
serves as an extension of the Filipino self.
THE FILIPINO SELF AND THE KAPWA

The Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) is an indigenous Asian (Filipino)

psychology that emphasizes identity and national consciousness, social awareness and
involvement, psychology of language and culture, and applications and bases of Filipino
psychology in health practices, agriculture, art, mass media, religion, among others. It refers to
the psychology born out of experience, thought and orientation of the Filipinos, based on the full
use of Filipino culture, and language. The approach is one of “indigenization from within” whereby
the theoretical framework and methodology emerge from the experiences of the Filipino people
from the indigenous culture. The Sikolohiyang Pilipino was a protest against colonization or
Philippine colonial education, hence, the push towards indigenization of psychology in the
Philippines. It was against the imposition of psychologies developed in Western and industrialized
countries to an Asian and developing country like the Philippines.
The most seminal work in the indigenization theorizing under the Sikolohiyang Filipino in
the Philippines is Virgilio G. Enriquez’s kapwa model.

Kapwa Model by Enriquez

Kapwa as the core concept of Filipino interpersonal relations emphasizes the self as
fundamentally related with others, and not separate or distinct as conceptualized in the West.
Kapwa is the unity of the self and others. Unlike the English word others which is used in
opposition to the self, the word kapwa does not separate others from the self. In contrast, kapwa
is a recognition of a self with others. Kapwa then is the Filipino equivalent of the interpersonal and
relational view of the self.
Kapwa, or shared inner self, corresponds to pakikipagkapwa, or relating to others as fellow
human beings (kapwa tao). For Enriquez, kapwa is divided into ibang tao (Outsider) and hindi
ibang tao (one-of-us).
In the study of Filipino values and personality, Enriquez critiqued the extensive focus on
hiya (propriety/dignity), utang na loob (gratitude/solidarity), and pakikisama
(companionship/esteem). Enriquez described these values as accommodative surface values
that support an image of the Filipino as subservient or accommodating (in relation to the
colonizers). Alongside these accommodative surface values, he asserted a corresponding set of
confrontative surface values in bahala na (determination), sama/lakas ng loob
(resentment/guts), and pakikibaka (resistance) that presents a counterimage of the Filipino as
capable of determination, courage, and resistance. This means that Filipinos can be
accommodating as well as confrontative, at times acceding and at other times resisting.

Enriquez’s Kapwa Value Structure

Accommodative Hiya Utang na Loob Pakikisama
SURFACE VALUES (propriety/dignity) (gratitude/solidarity) (companionship/esteem)
Confrontative bahala na sama/lakas ng loob pakikibaka
(determination) (resentment/guts) (resistance)
Pivotal Pakiramdam (pakikipagkapwa-tao)
Interpersonal value (shared inner perception)
CORE VALUE KAPWA (Pagkatao)
(Shared Identity)
Linking Kagandahang-loob (Pagkamakatao)
Socio-personal Values (Shared Humanity)
Associated Karangalan Katarungan Pakikisama
SOCIETAL VALUES (Dignity) (Justice) (Freedom)
 In addition to these surface values, Enriquez further conceptualized a set of Filipino
societal values in karangalan (dignity), katarungan (Justice), Kalayaan (freedom) as foundational
values in the core values of kapwa, or shared identity. Kapwa, or the “self with others”, is a central
value that connects all the different Filipino values.
These values would comprise Enriquez’s model of Filipino personality or Filipino value
structure as shown in the diagram. At the top level, or rows, are the surface values. At the bottom
level, or row, are the societal values. And at the middle level is the core value of kapwa. Linking
the core value of kapwa to the surface values above the intrapersonal value of pakiramdam, or
shared inner perception. Linking the core value of kapwa to the societal values below is the socio-
personal value of kagandahang-loob, or shared humanity.
In order to manifest the appropriate surface value toward others, one has to practice
pakikiramdam, that is to sense or perceive what another person is feeling or thinking. Enriquez
described this as the value of pakikipagkapwa-tao, or interacting with others. In order to share the
value of freedom, justice, and dignity with the rest of Philippine society, one has to experience
shared humanity through kagandahang-loob. Enriquez described this as the value of
pagkamakatao, or valuing people.

Self as Embedded in the Group

Bulatao (1998), illustrated the Filipino interdependent, or relational, self as the individual
self embedded in the group through an analogy. Bulatao used the hard-boiled egg to represent
the self or ego, which is clearly individuated or separate from others. At the extreme are scrambled
eggs with completely mixed selves. In between is a batch of fried eggs where each yolk remains
distinct and separate from the yolks. The whites, however, are now joined to one another that one
cannot tell where one egg ends and another begins. In here, Bulatao explained that the Filipino
self is dependent on its primary group. We find security in the group. As such, we are sensitive to
others and seek others’ approval. We experience the phenomenon of hiya, or sensitivity to others,
as linked to shyness, timidity, and embarrassment. The Filipino self will not assert itself
independently, rather it will seek to maintain group norms.