Maturity (psychological)

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Maturity is a psychological term used to indicate that a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate manner. This response is generally learned rather than instinctual. Maturity also encompasses being aware of the correct time and place to behave and knowing when to act in serious or non-serious ways.

Psychologist B.W. Roberts explains that in an explicit model of personality, one's personality must be viewed from both the perspective of the actor and the perspective of the observer. Therefore, one's maturity is not measured solely on how he views himself, but by how others view him as well. By this definition, how an individual feels about himself is no more legitimate than how others feel about him, and so it is important that this individual gains a certain level of maturity as he grows older to earn the respect of others.

However, maturity need not reflect one's actions in a social situation among well-known peers, as in these situations there is no need to establish a sense of maturity as once maturity is established, it by no means has to be a norm. Furthermore, one need not establish maturity on how others view their personality, because a casual observer cannot totally judge someone he or she does not know on a personal level.

Maturity is something of personal character, or how one acts in stressful or difficult situations, because then a person's true ability to react to a situation can be seen. Fake social interactions are often misjudged as many people rely on outward appearance to mask inner strengths/weaknesses so as to present a simpler version of oneself to the world.

Additional ways to judge if a person is mature include rational thinking and logical explanation in solving a problem, and the art of reasoning while debating.