ARCHIVAL STUDY

An Empirical Analysis of Research Trends in the Philippine

Journal of Psychology: Implications for Sikolohiyang Pilipino
JOSE ANTONIO CLEMENT

BACKGROUND

Enriquez published one of his most important works to date and its message was clear: Psychology, as
studied and practiced in the Philippines, needed to be oriented so Filipinos could understand their own
behavior using their own perspective.

Today, a lot of social changes are taking place. SP is no stranger to change and considerable progress
after its inception three decades ago.

After three decades of existence, SP still seems to have what Sta. Maria (1996) calls an “indigenization
crisis.” Thirty years after its founding, how has SP influenced the current state of psychology in the
Philippines in general, and the state of psychology research in particular?

OBJECTIVES

- To determine the extent in which psychology in the Philippines has been reflective of the goals
of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP).
o Describe the topography of the research area of Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas in general, and
Sikolohiyang Pilipino in particular
o Identify which articles published in the flagship psychology publication in the Philippines
can be considered as SP.
o Describe trends in SP resesrch
o Offer recommendations and directions for a research agenda in SP

Categorizing Psychological Research (Enriquez, 2007):

1. Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas – General form of psychology in the Philippine context

a. Sikolohiyang may kinalaman sa mga Pilipino (Sikolohiya ng mga Pilino at Sikolohiyang
Pilipino)
b. Sikolohiyang walang kinalaman sa mga Pilipino (journal articles which explain behaviors
of North American samples and can be found in libraries in Philippine universities)
2. Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino – researches which theorize about the psychological nature of the
Filipinos, whether from a foreign or local perspective
3. Sikolohiyang Pilipino – an indigenous psychology where analyses of the Pinoy and investigators
of social problems would rely less on Western models and a Western perspective, but more
from the local viewpoint.
 GOAL: To develop a psychology based on the experience, ideas, and orientation of both elite
and non-elite Filipinos, using methods of investigation that are culturally appropriate and
culturally sensitive.

Strategies That Can Be Used in Developing Concepts and Methods in SP (Enriquez, 1979):

1. INDIGENIZATION FROM WITHOUT (Pagsasakatutubo mula sa labas)

a. involves making something banyaga or foreign (e.g., framework, method, etc.) more
meaningful to the local context.
b. this strategy contributes to SP’s development by translating methods, concepts,
theories, and measures into Filipino.
2. INDIGENIZATION FROM WITHIN (pagpapalitaw ng nasa loob)
a. uses the culture as a source in searching for concepts and methods believed to be more
significant to the Filipino and more appropriate in explaining Filipino behavior and
experiences.

Four Aspects of Indigenization (Church & Katigbak, 2002):

1. Theoretical and Conceptual

2. Methodological
3. Topical
4. Institutional

RESEARCH METHOD

- Archival Method
o Reviewed three decades’ worth of published psychology research in the Philippines
o Used 213 empirical articles from the Philippine Journal of Psychology (PJP) as datasets
o Criteria for inclusion in the review:
 the article should be an empirical and psychological research
  all the research articles should have been published in the Philippine Journal of
Psychology (PJP)
 they should have been published within 1977-2008
 only local psychology researches were taken into account

PROCEDURES

- Revisiting the characteristics and goals of SP as proposed by Enriquez

o In assessing whether a study was aligned with the goals of SP, it was important to look
into what was studied, who participated, and how the investigation took place
- Analyzing abstracts of journal articles published in the Philippine Journal Psychology from 1977-
2008
- A journal article was categorized as consistent with the goals of Sikolohiyang Pilipino if it
developed a local concept (i.e., theoretical indigenization), developed an indigenous method
(i.e., methodological indigenization), and/or addressed a relevant social issue (i.e., topical
indigenization). A journal article could be consistent with only one aspect of indigenization or it
could be consistent with all three.

RESULTS

1. Describe the topography of the research area of Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas in general, and
Sikolohiyang Pilipino in particular.
A. there seems to be widespread acceptance that indeed, it is necessary to understand the
Filipino in terms of their own culture, rather than always using foreign yardsticks as
benchmarks
B. 61% of the PJP articles have been identified as SP research
 at least 1 SP-related article has been published every year since 1977 (5 articles
per year)
C. Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas
 4% in the local flagship journal had nothing to do with the Filipino (walang
kinalaman sa mga Pilipino) and 96% had direct reference to the Filipino (may
kinalaman sa mga Pilipino.
 39% classified as Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino:
a) the Filipino family (an experiment using color to assess a child’s
personality)
b) developmental psychology (a quasi-experiment on the acquisition of
movement concepts in children)
c) experimental psychology (an experiment on the effects of framing on
risky decisions)
d) educational psychology (an experiment on reading comprehension skills
of multilingual elementary school children)
e) industrial/organizational Psychology (a survey on psychological contract
breach and equity sensitivity)
 f) motivation and cognition (use of a scale to determine mediating effects
of motivation on parental support and anxiety)
 The popular paradigm of choice in doing Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino is
quantitative. About 73% of these studies employed methods like:
a) Experimentation
b) quasi-experimentation,
c) the use of questionnaires and scales
 About 12% were literature reviews and theoretical papers
 Mixed paradigm studies usually utilized both quantitative and qualitative data-
gathering techniques and comprised about 12% of the Sikolohiya ng mga
Pilipino articles
a) an exploratory study on the stress and coping experiences of families of
autistic children which used a questionnaire, semiprojective test, and in-
depth interviews
D. Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Pagsasakatutubo mula sa labas)
 indigenization from within (pagpapalitaw ng nasa loob)
a) nearly half (47%) of the SP studies fall under this category
b) this route is perhaps closest to lay people’s notions of what indigenous
psychology is all about
c) an overwhelming majority (about 84%) of indigenization from within
studies investigated indigenous or Filipino traits, attitudes, values, and
behaviors
 However, there were no more follow-up studies, even by the
authors themselves, which could have tested the links of the
concepts to other psychological constructs that would have
been more informative in explaining behaviors in the local
culture using a local frame of reference.
 Sumpong
 Pagtawad
 Bahala na
 Pagiging Pilipino
d) indigenous theorizing shows some promise as at least 2 indigenous
concepts can definitely be developed further:
 Enriquez’s postulation of kapwa as the core of the Filipino value
system
 the tagasalo personality, originally developed by Dr. Ma.
Lourdes Carandang (any male or female family member, apart
from the parents, who “gets recruited, or triangle in, to relieve
the stress” that the family may experience at various periods of
the family’s life)
e) when it comes to indigenous theorizing, two Psychology areas are worth
mentioning:
  Clinical Psychology is more inclined to consciously develop
frameworks and methods to address psychological health issues
in the country.
 the area of industrial/organizational psychology, at least as
evidenced by the articles published in the PJP, seems to remain
captive to Western or foreign frameworks.
 indigenization from without (pagsasakatutubo mula sa labas)
a) more popular strategy, with more than half of SP studies (53%) being
coded
b) Examples of scales that have been localized and developed include the:
 dementia screening scale
 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or MMPI
 stress pictorial test which was translated to Hiligaynon
 social axioms survey
c) about 82% were coded as studies which address social issues

2. Identify which articles published in the flagship psychology publication in the Philippines can
be considered as SP.

3. Describe trends in SP research.

A. Observed trends in these SP studies also include (a) preference for recruiting
participants outside the university, (b) inclination toward using a quantitative paradigm,
and (c) emphasis on topical indigenization.
B. It appears that for the past 3 decades, the trend in SP studies has been to study topics
relevant or related to confronting and addressing national issues or social problems.
 43% studies that localized or developed a concept while addressing a relevant
social issue
 28% studies that only addressed a relevant social issue (28%)
 studies that only developed local concepts (16%)
 Majority of these studies are more applied researches, with attempts at
resolving national or social problems.

4. Offer recommendations and directions for a research agenda in SP

A. More basic research about the kapwa model should be conducted.
 Much work is needed to clarify the relationships of these Filipino values with
each other and the various applications of the proposed value system since its
utility is still somewhat limited.
B. Methodological Indigenization
 To be able to advance the knowledge base in Sikolohiyang Pilipino, research is a
must.
 Aside from developing local frames of reference (e.g., kapwa theory), much
work is also needed in developing indigenous research methods.
 C. A call for more special issues
 Special issues should be published more frequently so as to ensure that there
will be more SP articles featured in the PJP.
D. Future study of trends and impact of SP
 In further assessing SP’s impact on the practice of psychology in the Philippines,
it might also be important to look into its influence across areas, as well as in
basic and applied researches.
 A more contextualized approach in studying trends should also be encouraged.
 It would be interesting to find out whether the observations and trends noted in
this study would be supported or refuted with a broader sample of studies.

CONTRIBUTION TO PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FILIPINO INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY

M. CECILIA GASTARDO-CONACO

A review of Filipino indigenous psychology (often referred to as Sikolohiyang Pilipino), tracing its
inception, growth and development within the socio-historical situation of the country and the
socio-political consciousness of its primary movers.

Given the economic-political-academic dominance of the West, it was no surprise that

psychologists from Asia and other Third World countries went to study modern psychology in
the West and transplanted that body of knowledge to their home countries.

What tended to be overlooked in the beginning was that much of what was passed around as
universal psychology was, in fact, western in conception and emphasis and, therefore, often
irrelevant or inapplicable.

This model of science adhered to ignore the fact that psychology and the phenomena it studies
are rooted in culture and local traditions. To pass off psychology derived from a western ethos
and culture as universal may not be a valid perspective.

For a long time, western psychological principles were accepted as universals and it was only
recently that Asian and Third World psychologists raised their issues and made themselves
heard in the snowballing movement in indigenous psychology.

THREE PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE PSYCHOLOGY:

1. Pre- Sikolohiyang Pilipino

a. Four filiations (Salazar, 1985):
i. ACADEMIC-SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY
 entered the country in 1925 when Dr. Agustin Alonzo came back
to the University of the Philippines
 a tool of colonization
ii. ACADEMIC-PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY
 establishment of a system of higher education in the University of
Santo Tomas during the Spanish times
 older than the academic-scientific
  psychological material was introduced via courses in philosophy
and medicine
iii. ETHNIC PSYCHOLOGY
 dates even farther than the second filiation
 began with the coming into contact of Filipinos and the foreign
colonizers
 Three Levels of Ethnic Psychology (Salazar):
- Katutubong Sikolohiya (the truly indigenous knowledge
base)
- Psychology of Filipinos (a more sophisticated psycho-social
approach to understanding the traits of the Filipino)
- Practice of Psychology of Filipinos from ancient to modern
times (including the "normal techniques of enculturation
or socialization and the proto-clinical approaches to
problems, tensions and conflicts")
iv. TRADITIONAL PSYCHO-MEDICAL SYSTEM
 Religion is the basis and explanation
b. Period of dominance by western knowledge structures in psychology
c. The brand of psychology was both empirical and positivistic.
d. Papers accepted for publication in the Philippine Journal of Psychology had to
meet the criteria of empiricism and scientific rigor maintained by the editorial
board (experimentation, rigid statistical procedures, and from observable data).
e. published papers were in English (local textbooks, course materials, even the
local psychological association was heavily cited western theories and research
data)

2. Rise of Sikolohiyang Pilipino

a. Marcos regime. Nationalism was intense and all things foreign were in question.
It was this atmosphere of critical questioning and heightened nationalism that
led to the rise of Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
b. Dr. Alfredo Lagmay and faculty were starting to question the applicability of
western theories and tools in the Philippine setting and doubted the replicability
of research results obtained from the west.
c. Enriquez raised questions about the validity of western psychological concepts
and their methodologies. He advocated for a Sikolohiyang Pilipino that would be
"based on the experience, ideas and orientation of the Pilipino.
d. Several developments in the field mark this period:
 i. Enriquez founded the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino
(National Association for Philippine Psychology) in January 1976
 "objectives of inquiry and clarification of the value and nature of
Filipino personality and consciousness and the development of
studies towards a more scientific universal psychology.”
 Inclusive and open, seeking a much wider base for its membership
of academics and professionals beyond psychology
ii. Samahang Pilipino sa Sikolohiya ng Wika (Philippine Association for the
Psychology of Language)
iii. Samahang Pilipino sa Sikolohiya ng Bata (Philippine Association for Child
Psychology)
iv. Development of:
 indigenous measure of personality (Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao)
 indigenous research methods
 undergraduate course in Sikolohiyang Pilipino
 publication of several books of readings on Sikolohiyang Pilipino
 a graduate program specializing in Sikolohiyang Pilipino as an area
of study
e. SP adherents kept the fervor of the movement alive through the annual
conferences but it was basically the maintenance of an ideological status quo.

3. Sikolohiyang Pilipino After Enriquez

a. Enriquez’ death in 1994
b. When he died, Sikolohiyang Pilipino was orphaned and none of his followers
appeared ready to step into his extremely large shoes.
c. Rogelia Pe-Pua, heir-apparent
i. ably assisted Enriquez since her student days and the inception of
Sikolohiyang Pilipino
ii. was by then an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines
Department of Psychology
iii. but she migrated to Australia with her family, the organization at home
could not be managed from a distance
d. That task fell on the shoulders of Grace Dalisay and subsequently Elizabeth
Marcelino (now de Castro), both former students and later colleagues of
Enriquez at the university.
e. annual conferences continue and there is still some research activity going on
f. but publications seem to have slowed down and visibility of the field has also
diminished somewhat
SIKOLOHIYANG PILIPINO AND GLOBALIZATION

The last few years of the second millennium has been marked by major changes in the world
order, signaling what has been referred to as globalization. These changes are:

1. Rapid developments in information media and technology and their influence on

individuals.
2. Increased human interchanges leading to increases in personal interaction with
members of another country or culture
a. Opportunities for travel to other lands (good for tourism)
b. Increased number of Filipino overseas contract worker

Because of this drawing nearer and increased chances of changing each other, "the
globalization process poses a challenge as well to the ethnic culture contained within each
nation.

It frequently invades and transforms the forms of indigenous culture which were established by
ethnic groups and nations. The process of globalization, however, tends to be incompatible
with the maintenance of indigenous cultures."
DESCRIPTIVE STUDY – SURVEY METHOD

Psychology Research in the Philippines:

Observations and Prospects
ALLAN B. I. BERNARDO

OBJECTIVES: To take stock of the state of psychology research in the Philippines.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE AUTHOR:

1. Publication is not a very good indicator of research activity.

a. a very small number of researches are being done on psychological
measurement
b. very few of students’ thesis and dissertations research efforts are published
c. a huge majority of research efforts are not published in forms that are accessible
to the larger psychology community
2. a big proportion of the studies were on topics related to social psychology.
a. Possible reasons for the large share of social psychology researches:
i. More support (institutional and financial)
ii. wider opportunities for interdisciplinary research efforts
b. majority of the publications in social psychology report researches are not very
sophisticated theoretically
i. 68% of the social psychology publications involve descriptive researches
3. In general, most researches published were not directed towards developing new or
more advanced explanations of psychological phenomena
a. do not go beyond reporting the data- gathering process and the data obtained
b. no attempt to relate the data to even the simplest conceptual or theoretical
frame
c. Psychology research in the Philippines seems to be largely viewed by many
researchers as involving only data-gathering and data description. Theory seems
to play no major role in the research enterprise; researches do not lead to
theory, and theoretical considerations do not motivate the choice of research
variables, method, design, or data explanations.
4. Observations related to papers published by the proponents of Sikolohiyang Pilipino and
the papers of other social psychologists
a. all tended to be descriptive in nature
b. did not lead to new theoretical insights about the phenomenon being studied
c. very narrow range of topics addressed in the papers published
d. do not reflect the range of social and other practical concerns
 e. Overall, it seems that most of recent psychology research in the Philippines is not
making as strong an impact on psychological explanation and theory as it could.

THE ABSENCE OF A RESEARCH CULTURE: Possible Causes

1. Lack of Research Resources
a. Research resources used to sustain financing for researcher-initiated projects,
access to literature, new ideas, methods, among others.
2. Research as a Marginal Activity
a. Many Philippine psychologists do not perceive research as being continuous with
their primary functions as psychologists
b. Many practitioners are not inclined to do research, some probably even have
some level of disdain for research
c. many faculty members try do research and try to publish papers to get promoted
and/or to attain higher scholarly status among peers
d. Most researches are actually done by students as part of degree requirement or
by faculty members who are full time teachers and/or administrators
3. Random and Isolated Efforts at Research
a. Research efforts, even of one researcher, remain isolated individual efforts that
do not build on each other
b. choice of research topic is determined by exigencies like the availability of
research funds
4. Lack of A Critical Mass and Peer Review
a. the absence of a critical mass of researchers that are necessary to initiate and
maintain a peer review system of research outputs and to push for theory
development.
b. the peer review system can be used to maximize whatever substance and
potential impact reside in current work
c. basic to this peer review system is the willingness to accept constructive criticism
in one's work
5. Myths About Psychology Research
a. many believe that one needs an advanced degree like a Master's degree or a
Ph.D. to do research
i. such degrees are not necessary requirements for doing research
6. Filipino research psychologists are that before one can develop theories and models of
some phenomenon one needs large sets and tracks of data.
7. Unusual sort of empiricism
a. This will lead to lots of data, but almost surely will never lead to understanding
of psychological phenomena
8. Large sample sizes are needed to make one's research meaningful.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

 1. There is a clear and visible increase in demand for research leading to theory/models
from non-academic sectors.
2. There seems to be a little bit more funds for research from various non-academic
sectors.
3. College and university administrators are quickly recognizing research as integral to
higher educational functions.
4. Easier access to new information afforded by the electronic media
5. related to the development of electronic media, there are currently more opportunities
for collaboration with foreign researchers
a. any form of collaboration is valuable and a potentially rich source of intellectual
advancement for those involved
b. many foreign researchers have more access to research funds, simply because
their countries have long decided that research is a worthwhile long-term
investment
c. many foreign researchers also have more access to research literature, research
tools like software, equipment, and others
d. the increasing number of collaborations among practitioners and academics

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. If we wish to develop a research culture from the status quo, the leading psychology
institutions need to play a major role.
a. Individual psychologists in these institutions should define their research agenda,
and work within these programs of research.
b. The collective mass of psychologists in this unit should create a critical mass that
will put in place a peer review system.
c. These small-scale communities of researchers can serve as models for other
institutions and individuals who wish to engage in meaningful and substantive
psychology research.
2. Psychological Association of the Philippines should provide more venues for
dissemination and discussion of research outputs.
a. Many individual psychologists have no real access to these resources, even in,
their colleges, universities, offices, and other organizations. The professional
organization can be a 'major source of these resources, or at least a
clearinghouse for information about these research resources.
3. all psychologists should rethink how research can complement their primary functions
a. Research and systematic inquiry about the human experience can be and should
be a responsibility of everyone who wishes to be a psychologist
4. The Filipino psychologist needs to do research that will lead to a meaningful
understanding of this psychological life.