Dr. Felicisima (Ping) Serafica: Early Attachment Researcher and First Tenured Pinay Professor

Abstract

Felicisima Catalina Serafica y Evangelista (better known as Dr. Ping Serafica) was the first tenured Filipina-American professor in the United States. This chapter reviews connections between her personal history, her dissertation on early attachment theory, and her later work on the model minority myth. Serafica's early research was complicated by limited empirical support for the then-emerging theory of attachment. She created her own observational methodology which would not be replicable today, and her dissertation work received little notice. This may explain why she shifted her academic focus after receiving her PhD to the influences of culture and ethnicity on student well-being. Serafica was a strong advocate for Asian-American students and for the need for Ethnic Studies programs. This chapter overviews her dissertation research and then reexamines it considering the model minority myth and the theory of Pinayism (Tintiangco-Cubales & Sacramento, 2009). It argues that attachment research in particular would benefit from a nuanced focus on different Asian-American groups. This chapter concludes with a series of discussion questions to be used in a developmental or gender psychology course to better appreciate the contributions of Serafica to the field of psychology.