behavioral

American  

[bih-heyv-yer-uhl] / bɪˈheɪv yər əl /

especially British, behavioural

adjective

1. relating to a person’s manner of behaving or acting.

   The program provides academic and behavioral supports for students of concern.

   Most of our biggest health risks are largely preventable with behavioral change.

2. Psychology, Animal Behavior. relating to or studying observable activity in a human or animal, often thought of as the aggregate of responses to external and internal stimuli.

   This psychiatry textbook offers a thorough discussion of both the behavioral sciences and clinical psychiatry.

   Harassment of wild marine mammals has disrupted their behavioral patterns, including migration, breeding, and feeding.

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Other Word Forms

• behaviorally adverb
• behaviourally adverb
• interbehavioral adjective
• interbehaviorally adverb
• interbehavioural adjective
• interbehaviourally adverb

Etymology

Origin of behavioral

First recorded in 1925–30; behavior ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The study, published in Health Psychology, showed that adults who followed structured eating patterns during a 12-week behavioral weight loss program achieved better results than those who frequently changed their food choices.

From Science Daily

CBT stands for cognitive behavioral therapy, which sounds painful, but isn’t as awful as it sounds.

From Literature

They identified 100 distinct "behavioral syllables," which are short, repeating actions that form the basic elements of how the fish move and rest.

From Science Daily

The fitness industry will likely continue to capitalize on consumers’ behavioral shifts to prioritize health, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I’m nervous,” said Brown, 48 years old, a state-employed behavioral health worker.

From The Wall Street Journal