COLLECTIVISM IN THE PHILIPPINES 1

Collectivism and It’s Detrimental Effects on Mental Health

Daphne Dawn Calimbayan Sevilla

Southwestern University PHINMA

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Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on how collectivist values though often glorified as the foundation

for our righteous Filipino values, can actually be detrimental to our individual mental health. It

argues the mainstream stereotype that an individualist is a selfish recluse who has no desire at

all to contribute to the community, with its contrasting world view that a collectivist is

apparently someone who is selfless enough to care for the group as a whole above himself as

an individual; so much so that they are willing to sacrifice their own well-being for the sake of

others.

Keywords: collectivist, individualist, filipino values, mental health

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Collectivism and It’s Detrimental Effects on Mental Health

Individualism and Collectivism are social stances or ideologies on how one should

approach their interactions within society. These two ideologies mostly hold parallel to each

other in that they rarely, if not ever, meet. They are not only different in their nomenclature,

but also in their essence. Whereas individualism promote the exercise of one's goals and

desires; and advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over a social

group. While collectivism puts emphasis on cohesiveness among individuals and prioritization

of the group over self. To further draw the comparison, Refer to the table below:
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According to The Geert Hofstede Center:

“ The Philippines, with a score of 32, is considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in

a close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended family, or

extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other

societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes

responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame

and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family

link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee’s in-group, management is

the management of groups.”

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The rhetoric behind collectivism sounds great at face value especially in a cultural setting like

the Philippines, but real-life consequences of this worldview tell a very different story for our

individual pursuit of happiness and mental stability. It is innate for humans to form social

groups, but it is important to recognize that these groups comprise of unique individuals who

share differing principles and personalities and should not be invalidated and expected to

compromise any of their rights to individual differences for the sake of a group or authority

figure.

To back a seemingly opinion based theory, let us solidify these claims with factual study;

Subjective well being (SWB) is the presence and frequency of positive emotions, the absence

of negative emotions, and cognitive beliefs about one’s overall level of life satisfaction

(Ahuvia and Freedman, 1998). The strong correlation between national wealth and nationally

aggregated levels of SWB is well established. It comes to no surprise that rich nations provide a

higher standard of living for their citizens and in return an increase in their general SWB but

disregarding material and monetary factors, these nations also tend to be more open-minded,

free, educated, and pluralistic. Therefore economic development increases SWB by creating a

cultural environment where individuals make choices to maximize their happiness rather than

meet social obligations (Watkins and Liu, 1996). Countries with greater wealth is associated

with greater individualism at all levels whether we compare nations by GDP, or blue-collar and

upper-middle-class individuals by annual income. Whereas, countries with higher population

density is associated with collectivism, as living in close proximity to others requires more

restrictions on behavior in order to keep the peace. On the other hand, greater exposure to

other cultures and higher levels of education are both associated with individualism, so
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countries with higher population density and less technological progress are essentially more

collectivist than thriving nations (Iyenger, 2010). This cultural transformation away from social

obligation and toward the pursuit of individual happiness is part of a broader transition away

from collectivism and toward modern individualist values.

References
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Liu, Callie Watkins. 2017. “The Anti-oppressive Value of Critical Race Theory and

Intersectionality in Social Movement Study.”

Hofstede, G. 2001. “Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions

and organizations across nations (2nd ed.).”

Ahuvia, Aaron C. 2001. “Individualism/collectivism and cultures ofhappiness: a theoretical

conjecture onthe relationship between consumption,culture and subjective well-beingat the

national level.”

Iyenger, Sheena. 2010. “The Art of Choosing.”

Birdle, Craig. 2014. “Individualism vs. Collectivism: Our Future, Our Choice.” Retrieved

from https://www.theobjectivestandard.com