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 animals became faster, more accurate, and less distractible across several behavioral tests.

From Science Daily

If stocks were to fall for a couple of years straight, for example, “we might see behavioral change there,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

New Year’s resolutions may be the most widespread behavioral experiment ever attempted—a great unsupervised trial in overconfidence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her behavioral and mental-health issues have been compounded by poor vision and hearing loss.

From MarketWatch

A smaller school district in rural California is experiencing a dramatic decline in student behavioral problems.

From The Wall Street Journal