behavioral

[ bih-heyv-yer-uhl ]

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.

Other Words From

• be·hav·ior·al·ly be·hav·iour·al·ly adverb
• in·ter·be·hav·ior·al in·ter·be·hav·iour·al adjective
• in·ter·be·hav·ior·al·ly in·ter·be·hav·iour·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of behavioral¹

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

Example Sentences

Providing this kind of care is complicated by the shortage of behavioral treatment professionals.

From Los Angeles Times

The limitation of these studies is that the further researchers get from an exposure in research, like cannabis use in pregnancy, the harder it becomes to determine whether behavioral changes are related to that factor or some of the other highly variable changes made in a developing child’s environment.

From Salon

In Washington, Newsom will also be pushing the Biden administration to sign off on efforts by California to use Medicaid funding to test new or expanded programs for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and have significant behavioral needs.

From Los Angeles Times

But according to Carolyn Mair, a behavioral psychologist who created the University of Arts London’s Psychology of Fashion department, the tech billionaires are “choosing not to adhere to the sartorial codes of old-money elites, who tend to favor refined, understated luxury.”

From Salon

Fashion psychologists like Mair study the behavioral science of fashion and all that goes into it: how we dress ourselves, how individuals use clothing to communicate and how things like cultural attitudes and social norms impact fashion.

From Salon