Adaptation as a Universal Mechanism of Human Behavior

Currently, the view is popular that behavioral strategies are revealed in various forms of adaptation.

Adaptation (from Lat. adaptatio — adjustment) is a holistic phenomenon that characterizes and reflects an individual's entry into a range of relationships with the surrounding world, into the social environment, integration with a community, and self-determination within it on the basis of the most essential features of individuality . Adaptation is an active form of interaction between a person and the social environment. The adaptiveness of behavioral strategies in significant situations is determined by the adaptive capacities of the individual and by the characteristics of how they perceive and evaluate a situation that is significant to them.

Social adaptation is a constant process of active

adjustment of the individual to the conditions of the social environment .

Adaptiveness, in the broadest sense, — is the correspondence between the outcome of an individual's activity and the goal they have adopted. This concept is usually associated with periods of fundamental, qualitative changes in an individual's life, although in reality social adaptation proceeds continuously. The main types of the adaptation process are formed depending on the structure of needs, motives, and psychological traits of the individual. There are two types of adaptation:

• • active — predominance of the individual's own influence on the social environment;
• • passive — conformist acceptance by the individual of the goal- and value-orientations of the external social environment.

The main criterion for the effectiveness of the adaptation process is the maximum possible satisfaction of the individual's current needs under conditions where their behavior and activity correspond to the demands of the environment. An important aspect of social adaptation is the individual's acceptance of their social role. The effectiveness of adaptation depends substantially on how adequately the individual perceives themselves and their social connections. A distorted or insufficiently developed self-image leads to the emergence of intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts and, as a consequence, to destructive behavioral patterns.

There are two leading tendencies in the functioning of a social system — adaptiveness and non-adaptiveness. Each of them is determined by the correspondence or discrepancy between its goals and the results achieved in the course of social activity.

Adaptation can be directed toward:

• • achieving equilibrium;
• • enjoyment, avoidance of suffering;
• • practical benefit, success.

Non-adaptiveness — is the opposite of the outcome of an individual's activity to its original goal. This is not simply a matter of discrepancy between the outcome and the goal, but specifically the emergence of a relationship of opposition between the accepted goal and the achieved result.

An adaptive strategy presupposes actions based on a forecast of the correspondence between the goal and the expected results of carrying out these actions. In a non-adaptive strategy, the condition for preferring a future action is a forecast of a possible discrepancy (up to and including opposition) between the initial goal and the future result of the action. The ability to act non-adaptively means, without any external coercion, preferring actions whose outcome is not known in advance and may be unfavorable for the individual.

Non-adaptive, inadequate behavior has a negative effect on interpersonal relationships. It manifests, in particular, in the individual's overestimation of their own capabilities and a weakening of self-criticism.

At the same time, non-adaptiveness can also manifest as maladjustment, when constant unsuccessful attempts are made to achieve the goal. This may indicate immaturity of the personality, neurotic deviations, disharmony in the sphere of decision-making, or it may be a consequence of a socially tense or extreme situation. In such cases, the person needs psychological help.

Adaptation, as an active form of interaction between a person and the social environment, is a universal mechanism of effective behavior for the individual in a socio-psychological situation.

Conclusions

• • A socio-psychological situation is the result of the active interaction of the individual and the environment. The objective side of the situation includes the actors involved, the activity they carry out, and its social, temporal, and spatial aspects. Its subjective side is represented by interpersonal relationships, the socio-psychological climate, group norms, values, and stereotypes of consciousness.
• • Types of socio-psychological situations: routine, problematic, socially tense, and extreme.
• • Behavior is the interaction of individuals with the environment, inherent to them and mediated by their external (motor) and internal (mental) activity. The whole variety of behavioral patterns of individuals in society can be divided into two large groups: adaptive and maladaptive. Maladaptive behavior often leads to conflict.
• • Conflict presupposes the presence of opposing tendencies among the subjects of interaction, manifested in their actions. The psychological structure of a conflict can be described using two key concepts: the conflict situation and the incident.
• • The choice of a strategy for resolving conflict is of great importance. The most effective strategies are compromise and cooperation. Compromise consists in the opponents' desire to end the conflict through partial concessions. Cooperation between opponents is aimed at constructive discussion of the problem, viewing the other side not as an adversary but as an ally in the search for a solution.
• • Adaptation serves as a universal mechanism of individual behavior in a socio-psychological situation. Social adaptation is a constant process of an individual's active adjustment to the conditions of the social environment.

Self-check questions

• 1. What is the distinctive feature of the objective and subjective sides of a socio-psychological situation?
• 2. Describe the various types of socio-psychological situations.
• 3. Provide examples of adaptive and maladaptive behavior.

• 4. Why can maladaptive behavior lead to conflict?
• 5. What is the nature of conflict?
• 6. What types of conflict do you know?
• 7. What factors contribute to the successful resolution of conflict?
• 8. What must be taken into account to increase the parties' degree of satisfaction with the decision reached in resolving a conflict situation?
• 9. What are the positive and negative aspects of conflict?
• 10. What role does social adaptation play in a person's life?