Filipino psychology, or Sikolohiyang Pilipino, in Filipino, is defined as the psychology rooted on the experience, ideas, and cultural orientation of the Filipinos. It is regulated by the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino, (corporate name: National Association for Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Inc.), which was established in 1975 by Virgilio Enriquez, regarded by many as the Father of Filipino Psychology.
Below is a brief timeline of psychology in the Philippines from start of Psychology in the Philippines based on western psychology to the establishment of Filipino Psychology along with the first models and scales that became the foundation of Filipino Psychology:
-The Department of Psychology and School of Education was established at the University of the Philippines -The head of the Department of Psychology and School of Education was Agustin Alonzo
-The Department of Psychology was established at University of Sto. Tomas
-Sinforonso Padilla started the Psychological Clinic at University of the Philippines
-Jesus Perpinan started the Far Eastern University Psychological Clinic
-Angel de Blas, OP, promoted the Experimental Psychology Laboratory at the University of Sto. Tomas
-Estefania Aldaba-Lim established the Institute of Human Relations at the Philippine Women’s University
-Joseph Goertz established the Department of Psychology at the University of San Carlos
-Fr. Jaime Bulatao established the Department of Psychology and the Central Guidance Bureau at the Ateneo de Manila University
-The Philippine Psychological Corporation was established which gave psychological services and stood as the primary retailer for psychological measurements
-Virgilio Enriquez questioned the current measures of psychology in the Philippines arguing that western psychology cannot be used as a measure for Filipinos as it does not consider the Philippine culture and experiences of the Filipinos
-Virgilio Enriquez started creating “Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao” (PUP) that was known to be a measure that is sensitive to the Philippine culture from process to acquiring tests -Virgilio Enriquez established the “Sikolohiyang Pilipino” (Philippine Psychology) and became known as the Father of Filipino Psychology
-Virgilio Enriquez and Carmen Santiago proposed the Model of the New-Filipino Research to guide the practice of native research. -Enriquez and Santiago introduced two scales that was derived from the experiences of research in the nation: Scale of the Researcher and Scale of the researcher and the Participant.
Filipino psychology is usually thought of as a branch of Asian psychology, the placement, determined primarily on culture. However, there is an ongoing debate on the make-up of Philippine culture, because this will generally determine whether Philippine Psychology is to be placed under the realms of either Asian psychology or Eastern psychology.