Social maturity: definition, characteristics, criteria, indicators and stages of social maturation

What it is

The concept of social maturity implies a state of personality that is characterized by integrity of views, predictability of behavior, and social orientation of life. In other words, we can say that this is the individual’s ability to correctly perceive himself and others. We are also talking about independence, which is expressed in the ability to independently make vital decisions without the help and approval of others.

However, do not be mistaken that social maturity is accompanied by a lack of need for contact with other people. Moreover, a mature person knows how to compare his experience with the experience of others, and also soberly perceive assessments of his activities. However, significant people around you can only be advisors or critics, and not arbiters of thoughts and actions. We can say that from the moment of maturity a person becomes a full member of society.

Some researchers are inclined to believe that social maturity is expressed in certain internal attitudes that force the individual to concentrate only on those values that have a positive impact on human development. In particular, a rational attitude towards material resources is formed. A person perceives money as a means of satisfying needs, and not as a fetish object.

The concept and features of social maturity

Social maturity is the most important criterion that determines an individual’s life in society, including his interaction with other people, beliefs and worldview. This indicator is heterogeneous among different members of society. It is influenced by various factors (for example, age, family, psychological factor).

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The category “social maturity” characterizes the state of a person’s personality, which is characterized by integrity of views, predictability of behavior, social orientation of life, and the ability to correctly perceive oneself and others.

In this case, we are talking about independence, expressed through the ability to make vital decisions, without paying attention to the approval of others. However, social maturity is not associated with a lack of need for contact with other people. Moreover, mature individuals are able to compare their experiences with the experiences of others. They soberly perceive assessments of their own performance.

Some scientists believe that indicators of social maturity are expressed in corresponding internal attitudes. They force the individual to concentrate only on values that have a positive impact on human development. In particular, in this way, a rational attitude towards material resources is formed. A person ceases to perceive money as a fetish object, and begins to consider it as a means of satisfying needs.

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Course work The phenomenon of social maturity of the individual 410 ₽ Abstract The phenomenon of the social maturity of the individual 220 ₽ Test work The phenomenon of social maturity of the individual 220 ₽

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Term structure

Social maturity includes the following key types of maturity:

Civil. This is an awareness of one’s duty to the country and society. This also includes awareness of the need for work, as well as responsibility for its results. This category includes awareness of prohibited and permitted actions, as well as responsibility that may arise when going beyond the boundaries defined by the state and society.
Ideological and political. This means having a formed idea of the direction in which the state and society should develop. We can also talk about active participation in civil and political processes taking place in society.
Moral. Acceptance of moral standards and their application in real life, presence of conscience, ability to empathize. This can also include awareness of the meaning of creating a family.
Aesthetic. The ability to feel and perceive beauty in nature, art and everyday life.

Indicators of human social maturity

It is worth noting that the signs of a person as a mature member of society are quite blurred. Different researchers estimate this parameter differently. Nevertheless, most experts agree with the opinion of Sukhobskaya, who identifies the following indicators of a person’s social maturity:

The ability to independently predict one’s behavior in various life situations, based on the ability to obtain and analyze information. It is also about the ability to relate the conclusions drawn to a specific situation and field of activity.
The ability to mobilize internal and physical resources to implement one’s own decision. At the same time, it is important to have the ability to withstand both external obstacles and internal barriers (laziness, fatigue, lack of motivation).
The ability to independently monitor and evaluate the progress of one’s own actions, as well as results at intermediate stages and at the end of work.
The ability to impartially and objectively evaluate one’s own thoughts and actions.
The ability to learn lessons both from one’s own actions and from the experiences of others. Thanks to this, the quality of predicting behavior and its results should improve.
The ability to adequately respond to one’s own behavior and surrounding situations.

Main criteria

Researchers identify the following basic criteria for the social maturity of an individual:

Awareness of responsibility. A person must be aware of his choice, and also take responsibility for the consequences of its implementation. That is, a mature person should look for answers to questions in himself, and the reasons in other people and external circumstances.
Independence within reasonable limits. A person must have internal freedom of choice. However, the individual must be aware of the limits when the exercise of one's own freedom may cause discomfort to others.
The ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. A mature person must be able to soberly assess his capabilities in order to live in a state of “here and now”, and not fantasize groundlessly. Also, an individual should not make unrealistic promises to others.
A sense of personal integrity and moral principles. A mature person must accept himself entirely, without hiding his shortcomings and weaknesses. He should also perceive failures as a lesson, and not as a tragedy. At the same time, you need to behave in accordance with moral standards. This should happen out of inner convictions, and not out of fear of punishment.
Ability to adapt. A person must be able to abandon those beliefs and forms of behavior that are no longer relevant. Old established models can hinder development, which can lead to serious disagreements with society.
Tolerance. A mature person must understand that people are not the same. The difference is due to gender, age, nationality, professional and other characteristics. This must be treated with patience and understanding, without showing aggressive emotions. Tolerance should concern not only individuals, but also their point of view.
Self-criticism. A mature person should be able to see his shortcomings. He accepts some of them with humor, while others encourage him to work on himself and improve himself.
Spirituality. This is a necessary condition for human development, which determines harmonious interaction with the world, the formation of one’s own “I”.

Social maturity of the individual

The concepts of “mental maturity” and “social maturity of the individual” are separated. Social maturity is considered as “a stable state of personality, characterized by integrity, predictability, and social orientation of behavior in all spheres of life. This is a person who actively controls his environment, has a stable unity of personality traits and value orientations, and is able to correctly perceive people and himself” (I. S. Kon, 1999, p. 177). In the socio-psychological context, the concept of “ maturity ” is most often interpreted as a person’s ability to be “independent” in life, when he does not need those “supports” and “help” from others that would support his life balance and confront the difficulties of life. Maturity is a level of personal development when she herself can make responsible decisions in both personal and public life.

Reaching the stage of maturity of social and mental development does not mean that a person ceases to need other people. Throughout his life, a person continues to evaluate his experience, forecasts, and behavior, comparing it with real or expected assessments and experiences of other people. However, significant others become only his advisors, arbiters, opponents in matters about which he himself makes vital decisions based on his own meanings in life (V. Frankl). Making such decisions and their implementation is an indicator of the maturity of mental development, and the criteria on the basis of which he makes them are indicators of social development. It is from the stage of maturity of a person’s social and mental development that the countdown begins in the manifestation of such a quality as free will (the expression of a person’s will in society as an equal member of it).

G. S. Sukhobskaya emphasizes that the concept of social maturity should be associated with the internal orientation of the individual only towards those values that have a positive orientation in relation to the development of mankind, its culture and civilization, i.e. towards humanistic values.

Personally mature people have a lower value of money and a higher level of monetary satisfaction. They develop a more rational and conscious attitude towards money, which is perceived as a means, and there is no fetishization of it, the predominance of attitudes towards rational consumer behavior. Personally mature people quickly learn new rules of behavior in an economic situation, are more self-confident in financial matters, and in situations of lack of money are more often focused on an objective and rational perception of the current situation and searching for a solution to the problem. The motives for spending money are largely represented by the motives of creativity, knowledge, self-development, and altruistic help to other people. M. Yu. Semenov, 2004.

G. S. Sukhobskaya considers the most important attributes of individual psychological maturity:

independent prediction of one’s behavior in any life situations based on the developed ability to obtain the necessary information and analyze it in relation to goals related to solving specific and non-standard situations in all spheres of life;
mobilizing oneself to carry out one’s own decision to act in spite of various circumstances and the internal socially unmotivated desire to stop it (“tired”, “don’t want”, “difficult”, etc.);
independent monitoring of the progress of one’s own actions and their results (presuming the individual’s readiness for a “normal mental split” into the self-performer and the self-controller);
manifestation of evaluative reflection based on formed self-awareness and an objective, unbiased assessment of one’s thoughts, actions, and deeds;
drawing lessons from one’s own behavior in various situations, increasing the quality of forecasting, implementation of plans and objectivity of assessment;
emotionally adequate reaction to various situations of one’s own behavior.

Social maturity is characterized by the use of rational psychological defenses in the event of unsuccessful conflict resolution or loss in competition: sublimation, intellectualization and compensation. At the same time, primitive psychological defenses, such as repression and aggression, are characteristic of socially immature individuals (V. G. Kamenskaya, I. E. Melnikova, 2008).

So, a mature personality is characterized by :

Taking responsibility for your feelings, thoughts and actions. Awareness of your choice. A mature person is able not to shift the blame (or problem) onto someone else, and not to look for the reasons for his indifference or aggression in someone else.

Reasonable independence. A feeling of inner freedom (“I have the right to say “no” and not feel guilty”).

The ability to distinguish reality from fiction. Soberly assess your capabilities and situation. Promise what you can actually deliver. And to live in real life, “here and now,” and not in the realm of fantasy, like Balzaminov in Ostrovsky’s play.

A well-founded sense of personal integrity and the presence of moral standards. Accepting yourself entirely. A person who accepts himself entirely does not hide his weaknesses. He is able to learn from his failures. Despite great tolerance towards himself and others, a mature person has an inner “core”. He behaves morally according to his inner impulse, and not because he is afraid of punishment.

Flexibility and adaptability. This involves abandoning forms of behavior that have already exhausted themselves. Each person, at a certain period of time, develops a behavioral stereotype that helps him live in the current conditions. But circumstances change, and old patterns of behavior will hinder his development and interfere with his normal existence. Therefore, you need to find the strength to abandon them in time.

Tolerance. A mature person takes into account that people are different both due to age characteristics and upbringing, as well as natural characteristics (temperament). Therefore, he is tolerant (without negative emotions and aggressive opposition) towards the views of others and the characteristics of his behavior. A tolerant attitude towards other points of view does not mean abandoning one’s position without special reasons. But such an attitude implies an understanding of the relativity of one’s worldview, as well as the worldview of other people, as well as a readiness to change one’s knowledge, one’s picture of the world.

Behind dispositional tolerance are certain attitudes of the individual, his system of relationships to reality: to other people, to their behavior, to himself, to the influence of other people on himself, to life in general. Examples of personality attitudes that ensure its dispositional tolerance are, say, the following: “all people make mistakes sometime,” “everyone has the right to their own opinion” (or ironic: “where there are two scientists, there are three opinions”), “ aggression and irritability are often provoked by the special situation in which a person finds himself, and are not his inner essence”, “a person has the right to relapse”, “a person who is late experiences even more than those who are waiting for him”, etc. Adopting a strategy and the position known as “altruistic egoism” most likely also leads to a significant increase in the tolerance of the individual. There is no doubt that in this case we must talk about dispositional, rather than sensory, tolerance. Dispositional tolerance, figuratively speaking, is tolerance-position, tolerance-attitude, tolerance-attitude.

The true embodiment of such tolerance can be called Prince Myshkin, who in the drafts of F. M. Dostoevsky is directly called “Prince Christ.” Myshkin builds his entire life precisely on the principle of tolerance and forgiveness, looking for justification for any misdeeds and failures of the people around him - as we well remember, among them there is a fallen woman and criminals. N.V. Bortsovskaya, A.A. Rean, 2000.

Self-criticism. Human maturity is characterized by a person’s ability to see not only his strengths, but also his shortcomings. He is able to laugh first at himself or at the situation, and not at another person.

Spirituality. I. G. Malkina-Pykh (2005) writes that one of the tasks of the period of maturity is the gradual accumulation of spirituality as a necessary condition for human development in maturity, especially in its second half. Spirituality presupposes, on the one hand, harmonious interaction with the world, on the other, a person’s orientation towards understanding the meaning of his own life, fulfilling a life task, without which a feeling of peace of mind and personal happiness is impossible.

Spirituality cannot be associated only with the formation of one’s self or with the ability to love another person. Spirituality is manifested in the unity of the ability to create oneself (one’s own self, worldview, attitude, value system), expand one’s inner world in dialogue and association with another person and grow to an awareness of belonging to the world space. It is in this understanding of spirituality that it can be considered a necessary condition for human development in maturity.

E. Erikson described generativity - a characteristic feature of a person’s psychosocial maturity in adulthood - as an interest in the organization of life and the guidance of a new generation; it is expressed through caring and teaching <…>

Without the concept of generativity, introduced in the seventh of the eight stages of life, the evolutionary development that made man a learner and organizer would not be understood... The concept of generativity is adopted to show the productivity and creativity of a person with age, although it is not exhaustive of them.

With an increasing awareness of responsibilities to society as a whole and to those who are younger, weaker, less experienced, or in some way inferior, the adult begins to think and act in generative ways.

According to Erikson's model, the achievement of generativity is usually associated with midlife, that is, generativity is relatively low in young adulthood, peaks in midlife, and then declines somewhat in old age. Research on generativity does not always support this hypothesis.

D. McAdam (1992, 1993) refined Erikson's concept of generativity as an extension of identity. His subsequent studies of generativity in the narrative accounts of old people are the first attempts to operationalize this concept. According to McAdams, the motivational sources of generativity lie in the demands of culture and the inner desire of a person. The first refers to the desires of society that adult men and women should support and promote the next generations. E. Erikson calls the second “the need to be necessary,” and J. Cotre (1984) considers it the search for “symbolic immortality.” Cultural demands and inner desire provide personal growth through awareness of caring for the next generation. O. V. Krasnova, 2004. pp. 401–402.

Levels of social maturity

Society is heterogeneous. Its members are characterized by different directions of thoughts and actions, as well as different degrees of development. In this regard, the following levels of social maturity are rightly distinguished:

Optimal. A person has formed value orientations (in social, professional and family life) that do not conflict. There is a focus on developing intellectual abilities and realizing creative potential. As a rule, there are realistic ideas about life prospects and areas of activity. At the same time, there is a steady interest in understanding the events and phenomena of the surrounding world.
Valid. The situation of social maturity is determined by the motives of well-being and prestige, which is expressed in the choice of sphere of activity, circle of friends and ideological orientations. The personality is characterized by uncertainty and inconsistency of choice, which is highly susceptible to the influence of a changing situation. Depending on how the mood in society changes, plans and views are revised. People, as a rule, are not ready for independent life and associate achieving success with external circumstances and the actions of other people.
Critical. The situation of social maturity is determined by the lack of motivation for development. The main desire in life is to avoid troubles and uncomfortable situations. As a rule, such people do not show interest in events taking place in society and the world around them as a whole. They are not psychologically prepared to resolve issues related to social development and life choices.

Socialization and social maturity of the individual

Socialization is a process during which a person with certain biological inclinations acquires the qualities and experience necessary for life in society. The most important institutions of socialization: family, school, other educational institutions, children's and youth organizations, subsequent active labor activity.

There are primary (training, formation of an image of reality) and secondary (related to the division of labor) socialization.

Stages of personality socialization: 1) Childhood – lasts from birth until entering school. At this stage, the child’s personality is formed and his preparation for adult life occurs. The role of parents and other family members is great. 2) Youth – from the moment of entering school until the end of full-time forms of general and special education. At this stage, a person acquires broader knowledge, completes the formation of the foundations of his personality, and determines his place in the environment of life. 3) Maturity stage – covering the period of active labor and social activity. At this stage there is a process of mastering social statuses and roles; there is an active inclusion of social, political and other spheres of society in production. 4) Old age - after the cessation of active work, socialization continues. A person is able to make a significant contribution to the reproduction of social experience and pass it on to new generations.

Maturity is an achieved high level of development of psychological, physiological, intellectual, emotional, volitional and moral parameters of the individual.

In order to say: “I am a mature person,” it is necessary to have responsibility (a person believes that the answer for everything that happens to him in life is only himself), patience, self-development (this includes self-control, self-control, self-organization and self-esteem, self-regulation and self-affirmation ) and developed personality thinking (flexibility, depth of mind, mobility, etc.)

Self-esteem of personality

Self-esteem is a moral assessment of one’s own actions, moral qualities, beliefs, motives; one of the manifestations of moral self-awareness and conscience of an individual.

Self-esteem can be underestimated, overestimated and adequate (normal).

Based on inflated self-esteem, a person develops an idealized idea of his personality, his value to others. He does not want to admit his own mistakes, laziness, lack of knowledge, incorrect behavior, and often becomes tough, aggressive, and quarrelsome.

Obviously low self-esteem leads to self-doubt, timidity, shyness, and the inability to realize one’s inclinations and abilities. Such people usually set lower goals for themselves than those they could achieve, exaggerate the significance of failures, are in dire need of support from others, and are too critical of themselves.

Adequate self-esteem by a person of his abilities and capabilities usually ensures an appropriate level of aspirations, a sober attitude towards successes and failures, approval and disapproval. Such a person is more energetic, active and optimistic.

Formation and development of personality

The formation of personality is its development under the influence of purposeful influences, it is the process of assimilation of the reflected reality and social experience.

Factors in the formation and development of personality: 1) spontaneous factors (the media, comrades and neighbors, the street, everything that does not depend on our consciousness); 2) purposeful factors (education, training, individual work, school, institute);

3) self-formation - systematic, personal influence on oneself for a specific purpose.

Conditions for effective personality formation: 1. Natural and biological (habitat), 2. Favorable social conditions; 3. Highly qualified and socially significant work;4. Organizational and educational activities

The concept and structure of human activity.

Activity is a specific type of human activity aimed at knowledge and creative transformation of the surrounding world and oneself.

In the process of action, a person creates: objects of material and spiritual culture, transforms and develops his abilities, preserves and improves nature, builds a society and creates a system of social relations in it, changes himself.

Activity includes: the motive of the activity, the goal, subject, structure and means of the activity.

Motive is what motivates people to take action. The motive for action is usually needs (material, spiritual, cultural, social)

A goal is what a person strives for, what he works for, what he fights for, what he wants to achieve in his activities.

Goals are generated by social life, the conditions in which a person lives and depend on public orders, on his development and individual characteristics.

The subject of the activity is what the person directly deals with. The subject of training is knowledge, abilities, skills. The subject of labor is a material product.

The structure of the activity includes 2 structural elements: Actions (independent, a goal realized by a person) and operations (the method of carrying out the activity).

Means of action - tools for carrying out activities.

Puberty

When studying the social situation of development in adulthood, close attention is paid to issues of puberty. It would be wrong to consider this aspect solely from a biological point of view. In addition to physiological processes, it is also worth highlighting the changes occurring in the central nervous system, which leaves an imprint on social life. Here's what we're talking about:

intensive personality formation;
change in attitude towards members of the opposite sex;
the need for sensitive attitude from those close to you;
manifestation of initiative and independence;
the need for tact and respect from others.

As for social puberty, its onset, as a rule, is separated in time from biological maturity. We are talking about a responsible attitude towards sexual life, in particular, towards the conception and birth of children. A person realizes the need to create favorable conditions for the implementation of this function.

Levels of psychological maturity

The level of psychological maturity is largely measured by the degree of its socialization, since the main signs relate specifically to social interaction and personality structure. This includes the breadth of social contacts, which can be at the level of interaction with a specific person, group of people or humanity. The wider the circle with which a person is able to interact, the higher his level of maturity. In addition, the nature of this social interaction is taken into account, which may consist in the appropriation and use of other people's achievements in the process of contact or in conscious reproduction for the purpose of improvement. An important criterion is social competence, which reflects a person’s ability to navigate various communication situations and social norms.

Children's maturity

The social maturity of a child means age-appropriate ability to communicate with peers, as well as older people. We are also talking about the child’s ability to perceive norms and rules, as well as follow them. In order to understand how much a child’s social development corresponds to his age, it is enough to show a little observation. As a rule, kindergarten teachers or school teachers have the best opportunity.

A basic sign of a child’s maturity is the ability to get along with peers, interact with them during play and learning, as well as the ability to adequately defend oneself in the event of attacks and aggression. The child must also be capable of changing communication styles. That is, behavior in society with children and adults, with acquaintances and with strangers should be appropriate. The child must understand where he can play and joke, and where he needs to behave calmly and seriously.

Another criterion for the social development of maturity in a child is the ability to perceive and comply with established rules and norms. Most children agree that they should not fight, take other people's things, and so on. Nevertheless, not everyone agrees with these norms and follows them. This is one of the key indicators by which maturity can be judged.

Signs of Emotional Maturity

A mature person is capable of love, compassion, and deep feelings for others, be it romantic or friendly love.
A tolerant attitude towards one’s own and others’ mistakes , the ability to ask for forgiveness and correct mistakes, and learn from them. The ability to forgive.
Tracking and controlling your emotions ; the ability to consciously choose your reactions, ignore provocations and come to a harmonious emotional state from any problematic one.
The ability to accept and give quality feedback is an adequate response to constructive criticism.
Harmony with yourself, self-love .
Openness to your own experience. A mature person does not deny his emotions, but learns to understand and work with them. If a problem arises emotionally, it is not ignored, but is solved independently or with the help of other people.
Ability to give and receive help .
The ability to adapt to changing conditions and see the positive sides of phenomena.

Adolescent maturity

Adolescence is considered one of the most difficult in both psychology and sociology. It is during this period that active personality formation occurs. Here are the main value indicators of the social maturity of adolescents:

Moral standards. Shifts in the intellect of a person who has reached adolescence allow him to assimilate generally accepted moral standards, as well as be guided by them in his activities and judge on their basis the behavior of other people. In addition, one forms one’s own beliefs that make up one’s moral character.
Worldviews. As mental development occurs, horizons broaden and theoretical interests develop. The teenager begins to recognize himself as part of society and gradually approaches the choice of a future place in it. This determines the main motives of activity.
Collectivism. Teenagers, as a rule, strive to demonstrate and prove their weight and importance in adult society. Thus, they strive for collective life and activity. Collaboration skills are developed while maintaining independence of judgment.
Social responsibility. When communicating with others, teenagers often find themselves in situations that force them to make independent decisions. This process is accompanied by consideration of alternatives and selection of the best one. Moreover, the teenager bears individual responsibility for the choice he makes.
Self-esteem. It is important for a teenager to objectively evaluate their achievements in activities that are meaningful to them. This is how reorientation occurs. Internal assessment becomes more important than external assessment.
Meaning of life. With the onset of adolescence, the individual begins to work on revealing his inner world. It is in knowing oneself and finding one’s purpose that the meaning of an individual’s life at a young age lies.
Family. With the onset of adolescence, relationships with family members begin to develop in a new way. As a rule, the desire to find one’s unique “I” is accompanied by complications in relationships with parents. Nevertheless, the family continues to play a decisive role in the formation of personality.

Typology of teenagers

Given the complexity of adolescence, it is not surprising that children develop heterogeneously and in different directions. According to the degree of social maturity, the following types of adolescents can be distinguished:

Oriented towards adults and adult life. The character of adolescents is completely determined by the norms that are set and established by elders (parents, teachers). This type is characterized by a low level of maturity.
Community-oriented teenagers. They are characterized by a high level of maturity. Such individuals are characterized by searching for their place by joining a team. Although this greatly facilitates their social life, it hinders their cultural and intellectual development.
Teenagers confronting themselves. They do not want to have common traits and interests with representatives of their generation. This manifests itself in unusual hobbies and antisocial behavior. The purpose of this behavior is self-affirmation.
Focused on extra-institutional norms. Teenagers unite in groups living “their own” lives, different from the generally accepted ones (informal movements). As a rule, communities are formed according to age.
Seeking to go beyond the group. Such teenagers strive for active activity and learning new things.

Maturity of young people

The formation of social maturity of young people is characterized by the following key properties:

Irreversibility. The development process is characterized by the constant accumulation and increase of knowledge and experience. The amount of knowledge does not decrease, but over time some of it may lose its relevance.
Directionality. The development of a young person has a specific goal, which is expressed in the desired state of the future. This is usually social status and marital status.
Pattern. In the process of development, significant natural connections between processes and phenomena of reality are revealed.

The social maturity of young people is manifested in several areas at once. Namely:

Civil. We are talking about legislative norms that determine a person’s competence in certain matters. Thus, civil capacity begins at the age of 21, and by the age of 30 a person receives the right to participate in elections to executive positions. At the age of 35, a person can already aspire to the highest post in the state - President.
Economic. Professional self-determination is followed by obtaining a certain level of qualifications followed by employment. Different professional and social groups have different levels of material income. As a rule, it is lowest among representatives of blue-collar occupations. Therefore, most young people strive to obtain a highly qualified specialist diploma. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for career self-realization and increasing the level of material well-being.
Spiritual. After the completion of adolescence, the formation of the worldview and life principles is completed. A person clearly understands what is good and what is bad; his actions are guided not only by profit, but also by conscience. However, at the age of approximately 27-28 years, a spiritual and ideological crisis occurs, during which a revision of the value system occurs.
Family. As a rule, the main indicator of independence and responsibility of young people is the creation of a family and the birth of children. Moreover, this process must occur consciously, with preliminary preparation of the material base.