Behavior
Behavior or
behaviour (see
spelling differences) refers to the
actions or
reactions of an
object or
organism, usually in
relation to the
environment. Behavior can be
conscious or
unconscious,
overt or
covert, and
voluntary or involuntary. In animals, behavior is controlled by the
endocrine system and the
nervous system. The complexity of the behavior of an organism is related to the complexity of its nervous system. Generally, organisms with complex nervous systems have a greater capacity to learn new responses and thus adjust their behavior.
Human behavior (and that of other
organisms and mechanisms) can be common, unusual, acceptable, or
unacceptable. Humans evaluate the
acceptablity of behavior using
social norms and regulate behavior by means of
social control. In
sociology, behavior is considered as having no meaning, being not directed at other people and thus is the most basic human
action. Behavior should not be mistaken with
social behavior, which is more advanced action, as social behavior is behavior specifically directed at other people. Animal behavior is studied in
comparative psychology,
ethology,
behavioral ecology and
sociobiology.
Behavior as used in
computer science is an anthropomorphic construct that assigns "life" to the activities carried out by a computer, computer application, or computer code in response to stimuli, such as user input. Also, "a behavior" is a reusable block of computer code or script that, when applied to an
object (computer science), especially a graphical one, causes it to respond to user input in meaningful patterns or to operate independently, as if alive.
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Ethology (animal behavior)
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Behaviorism*
Behavioral decision theory*
Behavioral economics*
Behavior-based robotics*
Chaining*
Deviant behavior*
Eccentricity (behavior)*
Forms of activity and interpersonal relations*
Human behavior*
Instinct*
Normal (behavior)*
Reasoning*
Taboo*
Work behavior*
Theories of Political Behavior
