''Utang na loob'' (

Visayan Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...

: ''utang kabubut-un'') is a Filipino cultural trait which, when translated literally, means "a debt of one's inner self (''

loob In Philippine culture, loob or kalooban refers to one's inner self, or, more specifically, to the internal dimension of a person's identity. Its external counterpart is ''labas'' - the physical, outward appearance. Loob is a core concept in Filipi ...

'')." Charles Kaut translated the term in 1961 as a "debt of gratitude," while Tomas Andres took his cue from Kaut when he translated it in 1994 as "reciprocity," but

Virgilio Enriquez Virgilio G. Enriquez (November 24, 1942 – August 31, 1994), also known as Doc E, was a social psychologist and the Father of Filipino psychology "''Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino"''. He was born on November 24, 1942, at Santol, Balagtas for ...

suggests a more accurate translation in combining the concepts of "gratitude/solidarity." Pe Pua and Marcelino point out that utang na loob does not imply the sense of "burden" inherent to Kaut and Andres' translations. In the study of

Filipino psychology Filipino psychology, or ''Sikolohiyang Pilipino'', in Filipino, is defined as the psychology rooted on the experience, ideas, and cultural orientation of the Filipinos. It was formalized in 1975 by the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino' ...

, ''utang na loob'' is considered an important "accommodative surface value", along with ''hiya'' (propriety/dignity) and ''pakikisama'' (companionship/esteem). It is one of the values by which Filipinos accommodate the demands of the world around them as opposed to its counterpart grouping, referred to as the "confrontative surface values", which include values such as ''lakas ng loob'' and ''pakikibaka''. The essence of ''utang na loob'' is an obligation to appropriately repay a person who has done one a favor. The favors which elicit the Filipino's sense of ''utang na loob'' are typically those whose value is impossible to quantify, or, if there is a quantifiable value involved, involves a deeply personal internal dimension. This internal dimension, ''loob'', differentiates ''utang na loob'' from an ordinary ''utang'' (debt); being an internal phenomenon, ''utang na loob'' thus goes much deeper than ordinary debt or even the western concept of owing a favor. Filipino psychology explains that this is a reflection of the ''kapwa'' orientation of shared personhood or shared self, which is at the core of the Filipino values system.

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