Unexpected Dimensions of Informal Social Control: A View from the Philippine Sitio

Abstract

This article amplifies the finding that a number of situational variables surprisingly augment the time-honored tradition of amicable settlement among Filipinos. Earlier reports emphasized cultural and personality patterns as a foundation for a preference of informal mediation of disputes and an avoidance of government agencies of control. Contemporary features, which include distinct political boundaries, unemployment, communication disability in a low-tech society, and the desire for bribery, among others, also appear to emerge as potentially meaningful variables. The findings allow for the construction of a number of propositions that predict how the situation impacts on informal social control. Field research in the relatively volatile area of northwest Mindanao, especially in isolated villages (sitios), suggests a need forfurther clarification.