Koreanovelas (Part 3)

Filipino-Korean Contact. Fluidity of inter-cultural contact is more acknowledged lately despite the fact that actual contact between Filipinos and Koreans is more widely known to have happened during the Korean War in the 1950s. During that war, five Battalion Combat Teams of the Philippine Army comprised of more than 7,000 Filipino soldiers, served in Korea from 1950-1955 under the flag of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea of PEFTOK on the United Nations Command during the North and South Korean conflict.

Bernaldez (2003) is inclined to believe differently. In an article, he told of a possibility that peoples of what is now the Philippines and the then Silla Kingdom have had contacts much before the colonial period. Apparently, a young Malay Datu sailed northwards and reached the territories of the Silla Kingdom sometime in the middle of the first millennium. The Malays failed to go back to their place of origin and was hosted by a royal Shilla nobleman until his death. The Malay datu was supposed to have been entombed in a giant mound similar to the burial places of the Silla royalty, speculated to be somewhere in the vast area of Kyongju City.

In recent times, Koreans have flooded the Philippines. They are not just found in tourist sites (largely in baguio City), but moreso in our universities, and residential and commercial areas as well. They have established their own communities, with commercial establishments, churches, and recreational facilities. Filipinos have begun to recognize their difference with the more familiar Chinese and Japanese, not just physically but in terms of their social behavior as well. How much the Koreanovelas have contributed to this familiarity is still empirically unknown.

Tayo and Sila. Social identity theory takes off from three basic assumptions: a) people categorize themselves and other people according to similar attributes, b) people identify with certain groups by associating with them to gain self-esteem, and c) people compare their own groups with other groups favoring their own in the process. Social identity theory posits that a shift from personal to social identity becomes imperative when an individual sees the value of including others or being included by others with whom the individual perceives similarity. This shift from “me” to “we” is triggered by something salient in the situation and when the perceived membership is foreseen to increase self-worth. The third premise provides for the distinction between ingroups (similar others) and outgroups (different others). Ingroup members are evaluated more favorably than outgroup members. This is known as ingroup-outgroup bias. In larger social groups, it is termed as ethnocentrism. The magnitude of ingroup-outgroup bias varies with several situational factors, yet it has been considered robust on the account that it is essentially a combination of two biases: selective favoring of the ingroup and derogation of the outgroup.

In fleshing out Filipino psychology, Enriquez (1992) noted three pronouns used by Filipinos to refer to the English pronoun “we”: a) kita (dual), which focuses on the listener in relation to the speaker, b) tayo (inclusive), which includes the listener, and c) kami (exclusive), which excludes the listener as referent. Such levels of distinction from the English structure connote the Filipinos’ concept of kapwa. Kapwa is recognizing that one is not different from others. It refers to the Filipinos’ awareness of this shared inner self, a shared identity stemming from collective values shared with the whole humanity. The Filipinos’ shared inner self depends on the social interaction that happens in pakikipagkapwa (collectivistic levels of interaction) and in pag-iisa (individualistic levels of interaction) (Enriquez, 1994). These do not necessarily operate exclusively among Filipinos. Even foreigners who demonstrate conformity to the Filipino subjective norms experience informal membership (“Pilipino na ‘yan”).

Ingroups and outgroups are defined very flexibly for Filipinos. The saling-pusa, the informal member who enjoys privileges not particularly enjoyed by the legitimate member and is allowed to break some rules that are for strict compliance by the legitimate members (Enriquez, 1992), is common practice in involving honorary members in groups. The tulay (bridge) is valued as an important person in achieving or elevating social interaction in courtship, joining formal and informal groups, and in field researches (Sto. Domingo, 1991; Protacio-Marcelino, 1996).

Recognizing the difference between individualistic and collectivistic cultures, Triandis (1997) also explained the behavioral difference regarding ingroup-outgroup bias- collectivistic cultures manifesting high helpful and cooperative behaviors among ingroups while taking as much advantage over their outgroups.

The Contact Hypothesis. The contact hypothesis introduced by Allport (1954) is considered to be among the most prevailing ideas in the history of social psychology. Its basic premise is that bringing groups in contact with one another reduces existing tension between them. The principles of dissonance theory by Festinger (1957) are applied in the conditions for contact hypothesis. That is, when people find themselves working with outgroup members, they resolve their cognitive dissonance by justifying their behavior and changing their attitudes toward the outgroup.

Researches on this hypothesis have dwelt largely on necessary conditions for contact to be successful. These are social and institutional support, personal interaction, equal status, and cooperation.

Contact has been found to have stronger impact on prejudice reduction when the necessary conditions are met (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000 cited in Forsythe, 2006). Contact hypothesis has been found to be mostly effective in cooperative learning programs where inter-racial children are required to help each other learn in desegregated classrooms. In cases where intergroup contact is facilitated without these conditions, conflicts either remain or escalate.

Recent findings have also shown that anxiety can be induced by intergroup contact, and this anxiety can lead to avoidance behaviors or in the case of unavoidable situations, increased reliance on stereotypes.

Reduction of Prejudice. After several years of research on the conditions for contact hypothesis to work, process models began to emerge from studies on social identity theory. Alternative models on altering intergroup cognition, taking into account the cognitive nature of ingroup and outgroup categorization, were proposed towards reducing prejudice. These are the decategorization, recategorization, subcategorization, and cross-categorization models.

Decategorization (personalization model by Brewer and Miller, 1984) proposes that contact will be most effective if interactions are person-based rather than category-based. Hence, it suggests that interactions should be structured towards reducing the salience of category distinctions. Hewstone & Brown (1986, cited in Gilbert, Fiske, and Lindzey, 1998) criticized this model and posited that positive interpersonal experiences do not always effect to positive attitude towards the group as a whole. Instead, it only increases the complexity and variability of representations of the outgroup (Brewer & Miller, 1998 cited in Gilbert, Fiske, and Lindzey, 1998), which may ultimately reduce the possibility of applying the stereotype to individual group members in the future. The mutual-differentiation model was then proposed (Hewstone and Brown 1986, cited in Wright & Taylor, 2003), where salience of group categories during interactions was imperative.

Recategorization (common ingroup identity model by Gaertner et al, 1993) suggests structuring the contact situation so that focus is driven away from the salient group categories towards a superordinate category, without eliminating the salient subgroup differentiations.

Subcategorization (distinct social identity model) suggests structuring the contact situation so that members of the respective groups have distinct but complementary roles to contribute towards achieving common goals (Marcus-Newhall et al, 1993 cited in Brewer, 2000).

Cross-categorization takes into account the possibility that the three models proposed may not be stable once the context is altered. Hence, cross-cutting categories may be utilized to replace hierarchical representations of multiple category identities.

Cultural Proximity Thesis. Kwon (2005) cited the cultural proximity thesis of Straubharr (1991) as utilized by Ryu and Lee (2001) in analyzing the contents of widely accepted Korean television dramas among East Asia countries. The study concluded that the Korean dramas that have been widely accepted in Asia contain the Confucian values that are close to Chinese culture, or contain the common culture and value between Korean and Chinese. From this theory, a model of Korean television program exports based on cultural factors in relation to the “cultural proximity” thesis was drawn.

In his study, Kwon (2005) found some cultural similarities between Korean culture (as depicted in Koreanovelas) and Filipino culture in terms of social aspects such as hierarchical family relation between elders and younger ones and extended family relationships. He found that when the Filipino audience recognized these cultural similarities, they felt more relevance and close sympathy, which eventually have led them to closer viewership of Koreanovela.

Koreanovelas (Part 2)

Mass Media and Stereotypes. Most of the researches on mass media effects have dealt with formation of negative attitudes and behaviors (i.e. aggression, violence, consumption, deviant behaviors). It is not surprising that mass media has been viewed as “completely devoted to emotional gratification and entertainment” (Postman, 1985 cited in Wikipedia).

In an article in the Canadian Psychology, McIlwraith (----) elaborated on Marshall McLuhan’s ideas on the effects of television. He differentiated the continuity model (that mental states produced during television viewing will persist into post-viewing time) followed by McLuhan from the complementary model (that physical inactivity during TV viewing will result in a "rebound" of restlessness and hyperactivity in the post-TV period) of Herbert Krugman. According to him, McLuhan postulated that because television was such a high-involvement medium, viewers came to crave the same degree of total involvement in all their experiences. Krugman, on the other hand, regarded TV as a medium of low involvement, and postulated that adolescent viewers, starved for real experience, sought out deep involvement in other areas of their lives as a way of getting what they didn't get from TV. In the end, McLuhan’s and Krugman’s use of different effects models led them to the same conclusion- that is, that activities after TV viewing are affected by the television viewing itself.

Mok (1998), through literature review and first-hand accounts, focused on the effects of media images and stereotypes on Asian Americans. She found that media projection altered Asian American women’s standards for beauty and attractiveness, with the image of “all-American” as the model, including that of their standard for male partners. However, they uplifted their self-perception by thinking that it has been fashionable for American men to marry Asian Americans.

Kwon’s (2006) interest in understanding the popularity of Asian telenovelas in the Philippines stems from the uniqueness of Philippine culture compared to other Asian countries, having been influenced by Spain and U.S. for more than four centuries. He noted how Hollywood has had a major influence in establishing Western standard in many aspects of the Filipino society.

Koreanovelas in Pinoy TV. In 2003, GMA 7 began to import the Koreanovela “Endless Love’ in order to compete with the popular Chinovela “Meteor Garden” from ABS-CBN 2 at that time. Since then, the competition of these major TV networks and their affiliates has not abated and TV viewers continue to enjoy access to Koreanovelas through free TV. Other foreign TV networks are also airing Koreanovelas. With the government’s laxity in reinforcing policies against piracy, DVD copies of Koreanovelas are currently rampant in the market.

The high audience shares of Asian soap operas in TV viewing (30-44% in non-primetime schedules and 41-52% in primetime schedules, compared to the usual 45-56% of local soaps in primetime schedule) have prompted researchers to explore what makes Koreanovelas attractive to the Filipino audience. Two particular studies, both presented at the Conference in Seoul Korea entitled Cultural Space and Public Sphere in Asia 2006, have been of interest to me.

Employing grounded theorizing with 18-21 years old women regular viewers of Asian soaps, Vinculado (2006) conducted a series of FGDs exploring the reasons why Filipinos have embraced these Asian programs (e.g. the qualities of the program, plot, characters, actors, pacing). Her findings highlight the following:

1. They prefer the new and fresh faces, instead of the more familiar local actors.


2. The Asian soaps present good elements (i.e. better characterization, are aired within a finite time period, have realistic conflicts and practical solutions, simple, straightforward, and uncomplicated plot, bold endings instead of the common happy endings).


3. Women characters in the Asian soaps were stronger and more empowered, even in comparison to American and Latin soaps.


4. In terms of cultural affinity,
   respondents feel that they can relate to the physical characteristics of the characters, being Asian and exposed to the physicality of the actors in their everyday lives (unlike Caucasians)
   respondents also feel a cultural connection to the settings used in the programs (e.g. settings where exchanges happen – university, coffee shop, etc.)
   respondents say that they can really relate to close family ties
   respondents claimed they retain their awareness of some cultural differences with these Asian soaps (e.g. show of anger and affection, sometimes to the point of hitting the female characters), but are “forgiving” knowing that these are still foreign products presenting foreign cultures

Kwon’s (2006) FGDs on Koreanovelas with undergraduate and graduate students of the Department of Mass Communications at the University of the Philippines, on the other hand, explored the consumption and attractive elements of Koreanovelas, and the cultural reading and construction of meaning about Koreans through these soaps. He found that Koreanovelas are easily accessed through mass broadcasts and DVD copies. He also found similar findings regarding the attractive elements of these soaps. In addition, respondents felt more comfortable with the implicit and high contextual expression of love, which is not sensual or sexual compared to Western soap operas. The extended viewing of Koreanovelas by overseas Filipino workers was also noted in the study.

The respondents also agreed that the Koreanovelas are just a fad, which will be later replaced by something new, and that they see future regional exchanges in light of the introduction of Korean culture. Further, the respondents considered Koreanovelas as a culture education apparatus, where they can see and understand the everyday life and society of Korea (i.e. food, dining and communication, traditional custom and contemporary fashion).

While Vinculado sought to understand the attractive elements of Koreanovelas for the enhancement of Filipino local soaps, Kwon’s study explored the consumption of Koreanovelas as a mediated communication medium representing certain aspects of Korea and its culture. Hence, he modified the framework of communication and culture interact model (Pernia, Pascual, and Kwon, 2004 cited in Kwon, 2006), shifting from religious programs to Koreanovelas. The model proposed that culture and communication are interactive - culture is transmitted through the act of communication (i.e. the contents of the TV program). This transmission occurs within the particular context; in this case, the Filipino culture.

Aside from accessing Koreanovelas, actors and actresses of these soaps have also visited the Philippines. Most notable was the visit of Kwon Sang Woo (lead actor locally known as Cholo in Stairway to Heaven) in December 2006 to promote a skin product, as well as to personally donate and volunteer for Gawad Kalinga. His visit received good media coverage and is known to most Koreanovela fans. Yang Mi-gyeong (support lead actress locally known as Lady Han in Jewel in the Palace) also visited the country in March 2005 for a series of cooking demonstrations.

Koreanovelas can be seen both as a commercial product targeting economic influence (Rhee, 2003 cited in Kwon, 2006), or a culture medium targeting the enhancement of audience perception about Koreans (Lee, 2003, Chai, 2002, and Xuehue, 2002 and Ying, 2003 cited in Kwon, 2006).

TV Wars: Preliminary Pilot Findings

The survey was conducted from February 20-24, 2007 in Barangay Escopa 3 at Project 4, Quezon City through a hired enumerator who resides in the area. The area is a settlement of households CDE class living in single detached apartment units.

Of the forty-three (43) instruments completed, only 14 qualified to the selection criteria: a) 20-39 years old housewife mothers, b) with only one TV, c) viewers of primetime TV programs, d) living with other household members (e.g., husband, at least one child, extended family members) who also watch primetime TV programs. The selection criteria were devised to ensure that conflict in terms of primetime TV programs viewing is present.

It was found that income level at Php20,000 is difficult to assert since these households include members who are earning. In addition, some housewife mothers or those without regular jobs have other forms of livelihood (e.g., convenience stores and other home-based enterprises).

Some of the respondents, even at income levels below Php20,000, were also found to have more than 1 TV unit and were scrapped from the qualified respondents. Some who reported to be primetime TV viewers reported that it was not important to them, and some claimed they have access to primetime TV outside the home. These, too, were disqualified from the final respondents.

In terms of watching primetime TV programs, the households apparently watch with extended family members and neighbors or those that don’t necessarily reside with the household.

Survey results

Of the qualified 14 respondents, 7 are 20-29 years old (50%) and 7 are 30-39 years old (50%). Eleven (78.6%) thrive in households with 4-6 members while three (21.4%) have more than 6 members in their household. Thirteen of these households have 1-10 year-old members, nine have 11-20 year-olds, five have 21-30 year-olds while ten have members above 30 years old. In terms of sex ratio within households, 7 (50%) have more males, 6 (42.9%) have more females, and 1 (7%) claimed no difference in sex ratio.

Although only one respondent reported a difference in preferred TV network for primetime TV programs, 7 respondents (50%) reported a difference in preferred TV programs. It was observed that these differences are not a matter of shifting to another TV network but rather that the housewife mother does not watch all the primetime TV programs that other household members watch. This does not, however, substantially indicate that they do not like those TV programs. It is possible that other factors, such as household activities during the evenings, prevent them from watching the other TV programs.

Conflict styles and negotiation patterns

All 14 respondents do not wage a full war just to take full control of the TV. As well, they do not withdraw or show affective disappointment (“tampo”) nor resort to hiding the remote control or compromise to gain control over the TV.

Thirteen (92.9%) reported that when they learn of a TV program that will be aired, their household discusses and jointly whether they will watch it or not. This does not tally with the only 5 (35.7%) report that household discussions are conducted prior to the airing schedule of a primetime TV program.

Nine reported just turning on TV (taking over the TV) to their preferred TV program, which is close to the report that 10 (71.4%) merely verbalize they are watching a program and immediately seize control of the TV. On the other hand, nine (64.3%) also consider persuading other household members to watch their preferred TV program as an effective strategy.

While 10 (71.4%) reported giving in and still joining other household members in TV viewing, nine (64.3%) reported leaving and doing something else instead. Nine respondents (64.3%) reported that even when the other household members give in to their preferred TV program they join her in watching TV.

When the housewife mother gives in, nine (64.3%) reported that this means conceding to the particular viewing schedule. However, 11 (78.6%) claims that this admission of loss for them is merely a statement of later negotiation (“live to fight another day”). On the other hand, 7 (50%) interpret the same behavior of other household members as not necessarily the same- it doesn’t mean the other household members are saying they want to negotiate again later.

When asked regarding who are hardest to negotiate with, 42.9% claimed “none”, with some making side notes that everyone is easy to talk with (“lahat naman madaling kausap, nagbibigayan na lang”). When asked who are easiest to negotiate with, 28.6% claimed “all”. It is notable that in this item two respondents listed themselves.

When asked regarding their feelings when they don’t win in the negotiations, eight (57.1%) claimed resentment (“sama ng loob”). Twelve (85.7%) of the respondents perceive the same resentment from not being able to win. Some respondents noted that “perhaps they just don’t tell me” (“siguro, hindi lang nila sinasabi sa ‘kin”), which could be a manifestation of guilt over having won the negotiations.

Nine (64.3%) believe that persuading other household members to watch their preferred TV program is an effective strategy.

Only 1 out of the 14 claimed that other household members easily give in to her preferred program. This same respondent reported not taking over the TV when this happens. When she gives in, she does not join the family in watching TV. However, the other household members stay and join her even when they give in to her preferred TV program. She also reported that her giving in on a particular viewing night does not mean the other household members have claimed their right to that viewing schedule or that she is willing to negotiate this schedule later. From further review of her responses, she deems persuasion and determination (“bahala na”) as the two effective strategies in acquiring control over her preferred primetime TV program.

Household decision making

Positive correlation was found between importance of making decisions for the household and who actually decides for the family (r=0.548, sig at 0.05 level). Of the eight respondents who reported that they don’t make all the household decisions, five said the husbands make the decisions, with notes in the questionnaire that the husbands are the heads of the family.

In cases where the respondents claimed that they make the household decisions (6), two said they decide on everything while the four noted: food, chores, TV, discipline, budget.

Seven (50%) reported that they decide on the primetime TV programs. In cases where they don’t, they listed the children, husband, youngest child, and landlady. The respondents noted that this is to avoid conflict (“para walang gulo”). When this was correlated with reported household decision-making power, negative correlation was found at r=-.289.

Six claimed that they hold the remote control while the household members watch. However, in cases where the husbands hold the remote control, the respondents noted that the husband is the head of the family. Four claimed that nobody holds the remote control.

TV Wars: Filipino Conflict Styles

Forsyth (2006) defines conflict within a group as a disagreement, discord and friction that occur when the actions or beliefs of one or more members of a group are unacceptable to and resisted by one or more of the other group members. This definition stresses the elements of disgreement and resistance based on actions and beliefs of group members.

For this study, conflict will be observed based on disgreement on action (where competition in deciding the primetime TV program) involving a scarce resource (the singular television unit in the household). Attention will be rendered to the conflict styles within families, from the perspective of the housewife mothers.

It is assumed that: 1) competition on the TV as a scarce resource peaks during weekday evenings, 2) housewife mothers have access to the TV during daytime, while other members of the household are in school or work during the same period, and 3) primetime TV programs are designed to cater to the preference of housewife mothers.

Primetime TV as source of conflict

There is no doubt that Filipino households, particularly those belonging to the CDE economic classes, value the television not just as a source of information and entertainment but even more so as among the prime household tools in their daily social life. Through the TV, households discuss societal concerns, share knowledge and rumors, and expose their emotional reactions to entertainment programs. Hence, the TV plays an important role in the relationship among household members.

Primetime programming schedules of the major TV networks (GMA and ABS-CBN) in the first quarter of 2007 reveal the profile of the viewing audience. It should be noted that these networks provide free TV, or non-cable TV programs, and their target audience are those from CDE households.

These schedules place the CDE viewing audience[1] as follows:
Young viewers (children to teens) from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Female adults (young and old) from 8:00 – 10:15 p.m.
Male adults at 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. and 9:45 – 10:15 p.m.

It can be inferred that the overlaps in these viewer schedules imply competition among household members, with the female adults suffering most from the overlap.

Conflict styles within families

Wilmot and Hocker (2001), in an exercise for their students, classified different family conflict styles as avoidant, collaborative, and aggressive and found that these styles have distinct “rules”.

Avoidant families don’t recognize that conflict exists. When they do, family members feel they have to figure out solutions on their own and not tell anyone else that there is a struggle. Walking away is a common behavior. Raising voice is not acceptable, while snide comments are. Strong feelings are never expressed, although sulking and silent treatment are considered good strategies.

Collaborative families openly discuss issues among themselves- listening intently to the concerns of each member, and openly expressing feelings including strong ones. Parents in these families feel they need to help resolve their children’s conflicts.

Aggressive families, however, provide an environment where only the fittest can survive. Members are brutally honest and express strong emotions without consideration for the feelings of other members or the outcome of the encounters.

However, Wilmot and Hocker also explained that most trainers and researchers are currently using a five-style approach and adapted a conflict measurement style instrument by Rahim and Mager (1995). The instrument measures tendency for avoidance, competition, compromise, accommodation, and collaboration conflict styles of two conflicting persons from the perspective of one party.

Conflict styles of the Filipino

Salazar (____) describes the Filipino “yes” as yes and “maybe” as no, and “no” as something that is rarely heard. He argues that this is not so much as a sign of indecisiveness but rather a mastered tact of protecting the other person from hurt. In the Filipino culture, pakiramdam or sharp intuitive sense, is a necessary relationship skill. This skill, along with other social skills, is learned in the home where sharing of space is a way of life.

Enriquez (1992) classifies pakiramdam in the Filipino’s core value of kapwa as a pivotal interpersonal value, where accommodative surface values include hiya (propriety/dignity), utang na loob (gratitude/solidarity), and pakikisama (companionship/esteem) and confrontative surface values include bahala na (determination), sama/lakas ng loob (resentment/guts) and pakikibaka (resistance). Associated behavior patterns in this value structure are the concepts of biro (joke), lambing (sweetness), and tampo (affective disappointment). Clearly, these associated behavior patterns demonstrate the Filipino’s inclination to maintain harmonious relationships.

On one hand, current researches recognize the transformation of cultures from indigenous to “modern” as influenced by the inter-cultural exposure. Hence, there is no telling how accommodative or confrontative the Filipino has become. Moreso, it is difficult at this point to describe how Filipino families behave in terms of managing internal conflicts.

[1] Due to the confidential nature of information, the actual data and research document, as well as an on-record interview with figure heads in the TV network companies cannot be cited. Suffice it to say, that the programming schedules respond to the regular research (survey and focus group interviews) conducted by their in-house teams.

TV Wars: Family Conflict and Negotiation

With the emergence of cheap TV sets in the Philippines by the 1990s, the television evolved from once being a middle-class appliance to a truly mass medium. English-language shows and canned U.S. programs were replaced by all-Tagalog programs that are heavy on soaps and game shows. An estimated 500,000 TV sets were sold annually at that time. As of 2006, over 90% of Filipino households have a TV (PCIJ, 2006). A year before, 85% of viewers of free TV belong to the CDE economic bracket (Sicam, 2005).

Unpublished reports of GMA indicate housewife mothers as highest viewing audience of weekday primetime shows, followed by female teens, middle-aged males, and children. Hence, these primetime shows are heavy on soaps and game shows and are thus also heavy on advertisements focused on this viewer segment. These field studies on Metro Manila also show that ratings for these kinds of shows are high except on occasions when basketball tournaments and boxing bouts are aired. Even then, the males prefer to watch these shows in public areas such as bars and community stores where viewers are homogenous and they feel free to express their emotions. In addition, these types of programs are often aired on Sunday late mornings and afternoons.

A review of the primetime programming schedule of GMA, ABS-CBN and QTV, the three highest rating TV stations show comedies, fantasy, and drama soaps, game shows and infotainment as the type of shows aired in the timeslot as of 2007. With the influx of Asian soaps, the drama soaps now include Taiwanese and Korean soaps translated in Filipino. Of recent, Filipino versions of former Hispanic soaps are now being aired. All of these programming trends cater to the demographics of free TV- 85% of viewers belonging to the CDE economic bracket.

The TV in the household

An ethnographic study of suburban low middle class households in Oslo, Norway focused on the use of ICT devices in a family context with a special focus the living room (Slettemeås, 2004). Negotiations and moral issues regarding technologies and their use were explored through semi-structured interviews. The dynamics described in these households point to the differences in control over use of the TV depending on which family members are presently competing.

The study showed that despite the presence of other ICT and audio devices such as the personal computer and the radio/CD player, the mothers particularly use the TV as a regular source of ambient noise in the evening. It also serves as a source of entertainment and as a means of relationship building with family members.

Family members in the small apartments with a small living room where the TV and other ICT devices are placed such as the apartments in the suburban village are left with no choice but to negotiate with the use of the TV. In the case where a young child is present, the mother gives in. Where children are older (17 and 21 years old), minimal conflicts in the choice of TV programs are experienced unless a third party is present, i.e. a household visitor. Where a husband is present, the husband receives priority in the use of the TV at night since he does not have access to it the whole day compared to the mother who stays at home.

Conflict within families

Family conflicts are unique from other types in terms of intensity, complexity, and the duration of relationships. However, regardless of these, family conflicts are considered common, not always considered a problematic pattern and not necessarily requiring intervention (Cupach & Canary, ___).

Conflict among household members commonly arise from resource allocation, division of labor, individual differences, situational dispositions and many other possible causes that are also triggered by constant and frequent exposure. Marital conflicts, sibling rivalries and conflicts with extended kin are also among the common types of conflicts among household members.

Much research on parent-child conflicts focused on conflicts between toddlers and their parents, perhaps due to its significance on the evolution of the parents’ and children’s behaviors on conflict through time (Messman, ____). Conflicts between parents and adolescents also tend to be popular, more often between adolescents and their mothers and particularly between mothers and daughters (Paikoff and Brooks-Gunn, 1991, cited in Allison, 2000).

Dekovic’s study (1999) examining the factors accounting for parent-adolescent conflict found that these conflicts are at a relatively low level- the most frequent being on everyday home life issues (e.g., sibling quarrels, home chores, and curfew), the less frequent would be disagreements regarding ideology, such as norms and values, discussions about politics and choice of TV program, and issues regarding the adolescent’s preparation for integration into society, such as academic achievement and work attitude, and the fewest would be about personal issues, such as sexuality, choice of partner, choice of friends, choice of school, and use of free time. A caveat in the study, however, would be that adolescents’ reports may be different from the parents’ reports and observational data of family interactions might produce different results.

Parent-adolescent conflicts can also be viewed as dependent on cultural contexts. Yau and Smetana (2003) found that the majority of Chinese adolescents’ conflicts were with mothers, and in their study there were more conflicts with mothers in Hong Kong than in Shenzhen. The analyses suggested that this was due to the greater number of mothers in Hong Kong than Shenzhen who stayed at home (and thus may have been more able to closely monitor their adolescents’ activities). However, regardless of mothers’ employment status, Hong Kong adolescents also reported a greater number of conflictive issues than did adolescents in Shenzhen, which may be due to parenting differences between the two Chinese communities.

Through members’ repeated exposure to their unique conflict situations, from early childhood through adulthood of children and from early to late adulthood of parents, they develop their own conflict styles and behavioural routines towards conflict (Cupach & Canary, ___). One such example is how mothers use distraction for misbehaving children below sixteen months, to referring to social rules and bargaining as the child ages (Dunn and Munn, 1985, cited in Messman, ____). Through these experiences, children also develop their own perspective and style of handling conflict later in life.

Negotiation among group members

Thompson and Loewenstein (2003, in Hogg & Cooper, 2003) argues that negotiation is a crucial element in conflict, since people who perceive themselves to have conflicting interests regarding allocation of scarce resources interact to form agreements. Five mental models have emerged on current research on negotiation, and these are: power and persuasion, decision making, strategic planning, relationship and joint problem solving.

When a situation is perceived as a battle of wills, where the objective is to force the other to submit to their terms or position, negotiation is a matter of power and persuasion. Whenthe negotiator is metaphorically perceived as someone who makes [flawed] rational choices, negotiation is considered as a decision making process. When negotiation considers rational moves and fairness towards a long-term process, it is is perceived as a strategic. When negotiation is perceived as a means of building and maintaining a relationship with another, it is recognized as a relationship. When people recognize that a problem is created and should be solved by the parties involved, negotiation is perceived as a joint problem solving action.

Negotiation among family members towards settlement of a conflict does not rest on one model or remains static- it could be a combination of few or all at a time or shifting from one to another, depending on the situation.

Decision-making in Filipino families

The Women Studies Project supported a follow-up to the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) in 1998 with a series of in-depth ethnographic interviews with a subset of 60 women towards better understanding relationships among childbearing, women’s work and women’s autonomy in decision-making.

Results indicated that there were relatively few women who had no say in minor decisions related to children, purchase of clothing or gift giving. In contrast, a larger percentage of women had no say at all in decisions about major appliances, land purchase, working outside the home, or hiring household help. Joint decision-making was typical in the case of buying land and schooling of children.

An important finding of the research is that autonomy in decision making was not related to either social status or socio-economic status, while socio-economic status and social status were moderately correlated. In addition, the interviews led the researchers to understand that decision-making in these Filipino households bounce back and forth between partners, depending on the circumstances. However, it was the researchers’ contention that this may not be enough to conclude that a decision is jointly made. “Consulting”, in this regard, does not seem to be clear (Adair, Gultiano, and Avila, 1998).