Surface Utilization of

Indigenous Psychological Test

 Surface utilization of indegenous methods
amounts to a token accommodation of the
traditional system.
It may take the form of the use of "Tawas" (alum)
by a psychodiagnostician reluctantly conforming
to the belief of the patient. In this case, reluctant
psychodiagnostician elicits reaction from the
client on the shapes emerging from the basin
and through this, uncovers, directly or indirectly,
the client's fears and conflicts which may help
unravel the culturally-define cause of his
appliction.
 Magos reports about a number of methods
of diagnosing illness employed by the
maaram of Mariit, antique.
Diagnosis, often reffered to as pagbatbat
or pagusisa, can be done through
pamulso (pulsing), luya (ginger ritual) and
pagpakot (divination).
 In pamulso (pulsing) which is most often
used, the maaram curer feels the pulse of
the patient's hand.
Pagpakot (divination) makes use of
various objects like ginger, eggs, candle or
the patients clothes and interprets the
signs manifested in these objects.
 In the urbanized areas of the Philippines,
western-developed projective tests might
have some applicability especially if
adopted to Philippine conditions, such as
the pne done by Alfredo V. Lagmay using
a Philippine-oriented thematic
apperception test ( PTAT)
Surface Appreciation of Indigenous
Beliefs
 Even western-oriented cultural workers
and social scientist utilize the indigenous
belief in sapi (spirit possession) matanda
and nuno sa punso (ancestral spirits)
Research on indigenous kababalaghan
(paranormal phenomena) includes an
interesting case of an indigenous
counselor in Calamba, laguna who
reportedly became a highly- sought
counselor after a dwende "had changed
her beautiful features into what is
generally considered an ugly face"
 The dwende explanation provided comfort
not only to the counselor but also to the
barrio community in their attempt to
understand what had happened.
The social scientist in the meanwhile
entertains the plausible rival hypothesis of
hormonal imbalance.