Chapter II

REVIEW of RELATED LITERATURE and STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies which are used by the researcher in

defining the constructs of this study.

Related literature

Smart-shaming is a Filipino culture of anti-intellectualism, something that a lot of smart people

have to deal with. This issue is slowly spreading in the Philippines, it may seem like a small and

unimportant topic to discuss but this has a lot of effects especially to the society.

In the Philippine setting, smart-shaming is really prevalent. As if intelligence is no longer a

blessing, it is more like a curse. It should be something to be proud of and not to be ashamed of.

Technically, some Filipinos do not like the idea of having someone better or smarter than they are. Crab-

mentality they say. If someone cannot have it, everybody should not. That instead of encouraging to

continue the pursuit of knowledge and sharing of new ideas they would mock and tease the intelligent

ones. Another thing is Filipinos settle on ordinariness and mediocrity to the point that they would just

believe things without further research. They prefer things that are already done. They would prefer

gossip than facts. Once they hear philosophical answers or statements, they would shame the person.

Instead of being curious, they will attack those who are and that is tragic. Having different thoughts or

sharing strong opinions is not really entertained that is why the intelligent ones suspend their reasoning.

These are the people who think and are not afraid to question authority when they know that something

is wrong (CynthiaAp, 2016)

This smart-shaming case of few Filipinos partially shows their ignorance, but this does not mean

that they are unintelligent, instead, it means that they tend to see intelligence as a negative trait. One

undeniable example is during elections of Philippine Politics. Some of them seem to see intelligence as a

negative quality of a candidate just like what they say happened before during the 1992 presidential

elections. Senator Miriam Santiago lost against Fidel Ramos because some perceived her strong
personality and high intelligence skeptically. On the contrary, few Filipinos voted for candidates who are

just known for their popularity in the showbiz industry and not by their capability and intelligence. They

do not like the idea of having ‘too smart’ officials because it intimidates them. (Sta. Romana, 2015)

Also according to Vaughan (2017), smart-shaming means a group of people mocking someone

for being smarter or critical thinker than them. Actual smart-shaming begins commonly in school, where

some of the more confident, less intelligent kids will mock their more studious peers. These scenarios

often happen during class recitation wherein intelligent ones would share their mindful statements and

thoughtful ideas or even when they would want to share further examples of their topic. Same goes

through when their text papers are returned and students will start comparing each other’s scores. The

smarter ones would be teased or made fun of for getting the highest score or even a high grades.

In thousands of public or private schools in the United States and Western Europe,

“defactualization” is expanding exponentially. This modern trend is called anti-intellectualism. In this

type of environment, those with the facts behind them often do not prevail. Instead, debates are won by

those with the loudest mouths and the Machiavellian ability to manipulate the not only the emotions

but also the understanding of others. As a result, the vast majority of students at both the high school

and university level hold views and reactions based on a dearth of evidence and a plethora of biased

opinions. Some people tend to just go with the flow without even thinking critically about the topic

especially when they do not really know much about it. They choose to be uninformed and uncritical;

they reject facts in favor of opinion and perceptions.. It seems like aesthetics are now more important

than the art of appreciating true substance (Jeynes, 2015).

This flow is also a widespread on the Republic of China. Confucianism may no longer be the

ruling ideology of China, but anti-intellectualism remains to be a dominant force in Chinese life. Instead

of some Chinese indulging themselves on critical, creative, and contemplative thinking, they appear to

choose to be uncritical, uncreative, and unreflective. Unsurprisingly, the social science research of

ancient and contemporary scholars tends to be descriptive and repetitive. It also lacks in analytical

insight, theoretical innovation, methodological accuracy, and critical engagement with related literature

because such intellectual pursuits carry the risk of offending governmental and scholarly authorities
(Tao, 2016).

Moreover, according to Sison (2015), “anti-intellectualism" is defined as the hostility and mistrust

of intellectual pursuit.. Those who present a typical and common way of thinking deemed a danger to

normality, and are considered outsiders with little empathy for the rest of the population.” This is where

the idea of having more critical and logical thinking means these people are elitist or arrogant. It is as if

society says that being intellectually gifted or smart is a bad thing.

The implementation of K to 12 curriculum last 2011 in the country, played a very vital role in

decision-making skills of the students as to what strand will they pursue in their Grades 11 and 12 lives

that will be a stepping stone towards college. Each strands have their own specialized subjects, while still

having core subjects that are the same to all. For example, STEM have Pre and Basic Calculus as well as

General Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as their specialized subjects, while HUMSS have Creative

Writing, Philippine Politics and Governance, and Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences

(K12Philippines, 2015).

Because of the “hardcore” subjects of STEM students in Math and Science, people tend to

generalize that STEM students are all achievers and are intellectuals. This stigma is one of the main

reasons why STEM students are most likely the victims of smart-shaming.

In Strain Theory, it explains that people want to achieve certain goals but in different ways. Ways

that the society might consider as deviant. Knowing that intellectuals are innovative and experimental in

their own objectives and means. This theory gives an understanding that smart-shaming happens

because the intellectuals who are innovative and experimental are somehow resisting what the society is

used to, defying the norms, culture and tradition (Abuan, et al., 2019).

This type of discrimination is somehow not popular to everyone, some people are not paying

much attention to this issue because of unawareness and apathy. According to Mishina (2012), the social

judgment of an individual depends on how aware and involved he or she is, to an issue. Judgments

depend both on prior beliefs and the helpfulness and I formational that cue is to the individual.

The aforementioned articles are related to the present study because they all emphasize what

smart-shaming is, how serious and spread smart-shaming issue is, the possible victims of smart-shaming,
and how some people are unware of the issue.