Peeling Back the Label Essay -- Sociology

Have you ever heard yourself mentioned by someone else as â€Å"mature or immature?† This status is so easy to place on people that they often don’t even realize that they are slapping a label on someone. Have you ever pondered why this person is acting immature? Often people see someone do something obnoxious or stupid and their first thought is â€Å"that person is so immature.† However, what about the effects that leads up to them behaving in this manner? Within my paper I plan to broaden your viewpoint and ideology and show you that immaturity and maturity aren’t just labels, but are the results of many leading affects in a person’s life. The first idea we want to look at would be, â€Å"what does maturity or immaturity really mean and what all does it involve? Maturity and immaturity are only two parts, and the most commonly heard, however there is a third aspect; pseudomaturity. According to the International Journal Of Behavioral Development, pseudomaturity is an attained social maturity without the psychological maturity. Drug abuse can be categorized in the pseudomature area because people who become addicted to drugs do it to look cool, or fit in, not because it is a better way to understand themselves or because is it healthy for them. Maturity is often used to define someone, or their actions, instead of themselves. A teen graciously takes over watching her little siblings without being asked and her Mom instantly praises her with, â€Å"sweetheart, you are becoming so mature these days.† This type of labeling is becoming so common in our culture, because parents throw the word out and the teen comes to connect the word mature with their actions. Maturity in actual reality is not whether you perform a task correctly or what you did, but... ...o, David, Seung Hee Yoo, and Johnny Fontaine. "Hypocrisy Or Maturity? Culture And Context Differentiation." European Journal Of Personality 23.3 (2009): 251-264. PsycINFO. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. NIV Bible Rutger C. M. E. Engels, et al. "Parent-Child Relationships, Partner Relationships, And Emotional Adjustment: A Birth-To-Maturity Prospective Study." Developmental Psychology 43.2 (2007): 429-437. PsycARTICLES. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. S. Alexandra Burt, et al. "Genetic And Environmental Influences On Personality Trait Stability And Growth During The Transition To Adulthood: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study." Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology 100.3 (2011): 545-556. PsycARTICLES. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Wim H. J. Meeus, et al. "Maturation Of Personality In Adolescence." Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology 96.4 (2009): 898-912. PsycARTICLES. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.