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

Many benefit from behavioral interventions and special education services to help with learning and functional abilities.

From Salon

We saw behavioral changes weigh on purchasing and hiring decisions this year.

From Barron's

From these measurements they built a behavioral profile for each rat.

From Science Daily

“The tests are never based on personal or behavioral characteristics.”

From Los Angeles Times

She explained that rats were chosen for the behavioral portion of the research because they typically perform more consistently than mice on longer and more complex tasks.

From Science Daily