behavior

Definition of Behavior

(noun) How an individual or group acts or conducts themselves when interacting with another individual, group, or event.

Examples of Behavior

• Hawthorne effect
• When an individual acts differently around a certain ethnicity.
  

Behavior Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: be·hav·ior

Audio Pronunciation

Phonetic Spelling

• American English – /bi-hAY-vyuhr/
• British English – /bi-hAY-vyuh/

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /bɪˈheɪvjər/
• British English – /bɪˈheɪvɪə/

Usage Notes

• Plural: behaviors
• Behaviorism (behaviourism) is the systematic study of behavior in animals and humans.
• People are socialized in acceptable behavior through positive and negative sanctions.
• A type of attribute.
• Type: collective behavior
• Variant spelling: behaviour
• A (noun) behaviorist (behaviourist) or (noun) behavioralist (behaviouralist) (adverb) behavioristically (behaviouristically) studies (adjective) behavioristic (behaviouristic) or (adjective) behavioristorical (behaviouristorical) ways people (verb) behave.

Related Quotations

• “[A field experiment] enables researchers to observe various forms of social behavior under conditions in which they normally occur. In a laboratory study, subjects know they are being observed and thus may display the behavior they believe is desirable” (Kendall 2006:27).
• “Biological models for understanding human behavior rely on the idea that innate biological differences between males and females ‘program’ distinct social behaviors for men and women. This is called biological determinism. Socially based frameworks, such as those coming from the fields of cultural anthropology or sociology, look at variations in behaviors and gender attributes. These approaches highlight the socialization process that teaches boys and girls to live up to the expectations for their respective genders. Either approach on its own—biology or socialization, nature or nurture—is inadequate for explaining complex human beings and why we do what we do” (Tarrant 2009:67).
• “Ethnographers seek out the insider’s viewpoint. Because culture is the knowledge people use to generate behavior and interpret experience, the ethnographer seeks to understand group members’ behavior from the inside, or cultural, perspective. Instead of looking for a subject to observe, ethnographers look for an informant to teach them the culture” (Spradley and McCurdy 2008:4).
• “Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction. It is a systematic study because sociologists apply both theoretical perspectives and research methods (or orderly approaches) to examinations of social behavior” (Kendall 2006:2).

Related Video

Additional Information

• Role Theory Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “behavior” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• collective behavior
• folkway
• Hawthorne effect
• instinct
• mores
• norm
• role
• sanction
• social action
• symbol

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References

Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Spradley, James P., and David W. McCurdy. 2008. Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. Boston: Pearson Education.

Tarrant, Shira. 2009. Men and Feminism. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.

Works Consulted

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.

Encyclopædia Britannica. (N.d.) Britannica Digital Learning. (https://britannicalearn.com/).

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).

Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 1997. New York: Random House.

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).

Cite the Definition of Behavior

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “behavior.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/behavior/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

behavior. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/behavior/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “behavior.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/behavior/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“behavior.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/behavior/>.