Reflection Paper

REFLECTION PAPER
I have a friendly personality, and I am a detail-oriented type. I am

attentive and quick to recognize the needs of people and situations. For example,
I tend to notice people who are left out in groups and make friends with them.
They also tend to point out missing connections and blind spots when working
on a project. I like to think carefully about issues and how decisions affect people.
This behaviour stems from my ability to perceive others' emotions
accurately and objectively without necessarily agreeing with them. It's a
convenient strength to use.
Another strength of mine is that I am a great abstract thinker. This means

an improved ability to deal with complex and multifaceted problems. I am
inspired by the complex situations people face. There, you can enjoy playing out
in your mind how to approach people with different strategies, or showing
people new perspectives in the same situation, putting them in a better position
to solve a problem.
My interests go hand in hand with my strengths. I love helping,

interacting and meeting people's needs. I have a particular kind heart for those
left out of the hamster wheel, such as children with learning disabilities, the
elderly without close relatives, and the marginalized.
I easily share my thoughts and feeling with my friends and family. I feel I
can be open with people I am close to. I prefer to be acknowledged verbally by
those I am not close with and more intimately by those I am close with. My
family is very physical, and we show care through physical touch. My speech
pattern is low-context, and long amounts of silence are awkward. My family is
very verbal.
My family is very close, and the priority is family. We spend a great deal of
time together and have a very strong bond. The older adults on both sides of my
family are revered and are sought for their advice because they have a wealth of
knowledge. My family achieves its status through academic achievement. The
greatest importance is education.
I am always early to work. I take it very seriously and attendance and

timeliness are very important. I seek help and advice from my coworkers or a
manager. They guide me when I am unable to do something on the job.
Culturally, this is expected in the workplace. I do not consider myself to be
assertive and while my job does require me to be assertive at times, I prefer not
to be.
Understanding oneself is truly an important thing to know in order for us
to guide ourselves in our everyday lives. In understanding the self,
psychodynamic theories play an important role to help and explain different
personalities, characteristics, behaviors, feelings, and relationships through
various forces. Psychodynamic theory originated from the work of the famous
Sigmund Freud called psychoanalysis, which is a type of psychotherapy that
attempts to explore a patient’s unconscious thoughts and emotions to be able to
fully understand himself/herself.
From this, it branched to several more theories which then explored the
individual on a different perspective. Different psychological thinkers then
contributed in the development of this theory which resulted to a more diverse
view of the individual. From psychoanalysis, it now includes new works and
approaches such as individual psychology, analytical psychology, object relations
theory, psychoanalytic social theory, humanistic psychoanalysis, interpersonal
theory, et cetera. Among these psychodynamic theories, this paper will only
focus on psychoanalytic social theory and how it reflects the Filipino personality
or “pagkataong Pilipino.”
Psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney is based on the assumption

that social and cultural influences, highlighting childhood experiences, are
primarily responsible for shaping an individual’s personality . She emphasized
that cultural influences are the primary bases for both neurotic and normal
personality development. In this theory, Horney contradicted Freud’s idea that
pleasure is the principle that guides an individual, so, she identified two guiding
principles instead – safety and satisfaction.
In today’s modern time, since the world is continuously evolving and

developing, we cannot deny the fact that even individuals’ personalities and
behaviors are also constantly changing. We shift from one to another as we base
these in our surroundings, for our interaction and even for our own survival.
One thing about our culture as Filipinos is that we are a very collectivistic
culture. This means that we put high importance on the needs and goals of the
group more than the individual’s needs and desires We give focus on the
betterment of everyone and not just as individual human beings. Because of this,
the interconnection and relationship established between the members of the
group play an important part in the development and evolution of our
personalities and identities. Since we have this collectivist culture, we also share
common values and virtues towards individuals. We are focused on promoting
selflessness and prioritizing the essentials of the community, we prefer to work
as a group rather than as individuals, we put more highlight on the goals of the
group over the individuals’.
In the Filipino setting, one can say that this psychodynamic theory reflects
our current society, our Filipino personality most commonly known as
“pagkataong Pilipino.” There are a lot of different social and cultural factors,
arising from the childhood up until today, that affect our personalities. Most of
these influences start from our family, our first and primary social group. We,
Filipinos, value our family to the extent that we keep an intact connection
through generations to generations. We make sure to spend time with each
other, no matter what the activity is – religious, recreation, or anything random.
Family is the main contributor to the development and establishment of our
personalities. For example, in our own homes is where we are first taught of the
virtues and values that we must apply in our lives, and as we grow older, we
continue to interact with them, thus, acquiring more of these. We then apply this
to others through “pakikipag-kapwa,” where we share our selves to others whom
we consider as “kapwa”.
Through our constant and continuous interaction with our social group,
we also adapt their ways and make them part of our own. Another example is the
Filipino time, where we tend going late to a party, event, or any gathering
compared to the actual time given. This is due to the freedom given to us by our
social and cultural influences. With these given freedom, we tend to maximize its
capacity. If this practice is being enacted repeatedly by the people around us, as a
result, we tend to just comply and then adapt this behavior eventually.
On the other hand however, even if culture plays a big part in the
development of our personality, it also gives rise to competition as it becomes
modern over time. This is evident most especially in urban areas where people
are more exposed to different foreign values, virtues, and even just languages.
This dependence of the Filipinos on a borrowed language, English per se, it
became dependent, too, on foreign theories and methods underlying the
borrowed language, thus, resulting in a borrowed consciousness. Because of
their shared self with others, Filipinos adapt these foreign culture mainly focused
on individualism and independence which will then result to the existence of
competition among them. As a result, they now give more value to themselves as
individuals and not as part of the group.
This competition can be reflected in the Filipino trait of crab mentality.

It’s an attitude resembling the behavior of crabs in a bucket: when a crab tries to
climb up, the others try to pull it down. As for the individuals, people tend to pull
each other down to clear the way for their own gain, instead of helping each
other make their way on the top . People who acquire this characteristic focus
only on their own goal and benefit, they do not want others to be above their
heads so they pull them down for them to be on the same level again. This
competition that exist among individuals, brought about by cultural and societal
factors, will then give rise to basic hostility, and basic anxiety.
In Horney’s theory, she identified 10 neurotic needs that characterize

neurotics in their attempts to combat basic anxiety. Some of these neurotic needs
can also be reflected in the Filipino personality. For example, the neurotic need
for affection and approval. We cannot deny the fact that even ourselves, desire to
be liked, to please other people, and meet the expectations of others even if there
is no written rule about it. We think that these could give us validation in the
things that we do. However, even if we exhibit this personality, we are also
extremely sensitive to rejection and criticism. Similar to this need is the neurotic
need for social recognition or prestige. We, Filipinos, like to be appreciated by
others, so we always give our best shot at everything that we do in order to gain
attention and recognition. Reflected also in our personality is the neurotic need
for personal achievement as a result of basic insecurity. There is nothing wrong
in acquiring achievements, however, some of us are so obsessed with them to the
point that the goal is always to be on top no matter what the circumstances are.
The reason some Filipinos exhibit this personality is because they are afraid of
failure and feel a constant need to accomplish more than others.
Filipino personality or pagkataong Pilipino truly is a big puzzle composed

of different pieces. There may be numerous different pieces that comprise this
puzzle, but there is always a big picture that form the obvious part of this.
Because of this big picture, we can easily place the remaining pieces into their
right places in order to completely form the puzzle. This big picture is the
psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney, stating that social and cultural
influences are primarily responsible for shaping the Filipino personality,
pagkataong Pilipino.
The striving towards self-realization is present in each of us, regardless if

we consciously choose to grow, learn, or improve ourselves. In fact, we don't
have to do anything at all and the driving force in us will lead us towards
development and growth. However, it doesn't mean that it will lead us in the
right direction, and neither it means that allowing ourselves to by driven by this
unconscious mechanism will enable us to become the best version of ourselves.

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REFLECTION PAPER

I have a friendly personality, and I am a detail-oriented type. I am

Another strength of mine is that I am a great abstract thinker. This means

My interests go hand in hand with my strengths. I love helping,

I am always early to work. I take it very seriously and attendance and

Psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney is based on the assumption

In today’s modern time, since the world is continuously evolving and

This competition can be reflected in the Filipino trait of crab mentality.

In Horney’s theory, she identified 10 neurotic needs that characterize

Filipino personality or pagkataong Pilipino truly is a big puzzle composed

The striving towards self-realization is present in each of us, regardless if

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