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 acceptability 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. Animal behavior is studied in comparative psychology, ethology, behavioral ecology and sociobiology. Behavior or Behaviour may refer to: Human behavior Biological behavior, actions or reactions Behaviour (journal), published by Brill Publishers. ... American and British English spelling differences are one aspect of American and British English differences. ... Action, as a concept in philosophy, is what an agent can do, as for instance humans as agents can do. ... A reaction is the following: In physics, a reaction (physics) is defined by Newtons third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The idea that any given force has a pair or opposite force. ... In philosophy, an object is a thing, an entity, or a being. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Relation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In mathematics, a relation is a generalization of arithmetic relations, such as = and <, which occur in statements, such as 5 < 6 or 2 + 2 = 4. See relation (mathematics), binary relation (of set theory and logic) and relational algebra. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Wiktionary:Open - definition Open set (mathematics) Open (sport) - A type of competition in tennis and golf (among others) where entry is open to all qualifiers regardless of age. ... Secrecy is the condition of hiding information from others. ... This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Human Nervous System The nervous system of a human coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... Human behavior is the collection of activities performed by human beings and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Deviant redirects here. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... In sociology, a norm, or social norm, is a pattern of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation. ... Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Action, as a concept in philosophy, is what an agent can do, as for instance humans as agents can do. ... Comparative psychology, taken in its most usual, broad sense, refers to the study of the behavior and mental life of animals other than human beings. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment (both intrinsic and extrinsic). ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Behavior became an important construct in early 20th century Psychology with the advent of the paradigm known subsequently as "behaviorism." Behaviorism was a reaction against so-called "faculty" psychology which purported to see into or understand the mind without the benefit of scientific testing. Behaviorism insisted on working only with what can be seen or manipulated and in the early views of John B. Watson, a founder of the field, nothing was inferred as to the nature of the entity that produced the behavior. Subsequent modifications of Watson's perspective and that of so-called "classical conditioning" (see under Ivan Pavlov led to the rise of Operant Conditioning, a theory advocated by B.F. Skinner, which took over the academic establishment up through the 1950s and was synonymous with "behaviorism" for many. John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878–September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, after doing research on animal behavior. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 _ August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist and author. ...

For studies on behavior ethograms are used. In ethology, an ethogram is a catalogue of the discrete behaviors typically employed by a species. ...

See also

• Animal behavior
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Behaviorism
• Radical Behaviorism
• Experimental analysis of behavior
• Forms of activity and interpersonal relations
• Human behavior
• Human sexual behavior
• Instinct
• Motive
• Normal (behavior)
• Psychology
• Reasoning
• rebellion
• Taboo
• Theories of Political Behavior
• Work behavior