Definition of ‘behaviour’ - An Overview

Behavior or behaviour is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organisms, system or artificial entities in conjunction with their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert and voluntary or involuntary.

Human behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics.

Work behavior is the behavior one uses in employment and is normally more formal than other types of human behavior. This varies from profession to profession, as some are far more casual than others. For example, a computer programmer would usually have far more leeway in their work behavior than a lawyer.

People are usually more careful than outside of work in how they behave around their colleagues, as many actions intended to be in jest can be perceived as inappropriate or even harassment in the work environment. In some cases, men may take considerably more care so as not to be perceived as being sexually harassing than they would ordinarily.

Counterproductive work behavior is also a type of work behavior. Most of the people do not know what counterproductive work behavior is. Even people do not recognize this behavior, it seems normal to them. Here are some examples in order to understand what counterproductive behavior is:

1. When someone is ignoring people at work.
2. When people work slowly and the work needs to be done fast.
3. When people refuse to help their colleagues.
4. When people refuse to accept a task.
5. When people show less interest in their work.
6. When people show destructive behavior against their colleagues.
7. When people do not appreciate their colleague's success.

These are the examples of counterproductive behavior that people confront in their daily life.

‘Behavior’ in stand point of Behavioral Safety:

• how a person conducts himself;
• the demeanor and manners of an individual;
• an observable action of a person.

Behavioral sciences, therefore, are those sciences most concerned with the study of human and animal behavior. This study allows the formation of general theories based upon the observation of specific events. The theories are subsequently used to explain observed events and, in some cases, to predict future events or outcomes.

The causes of human behavior are associated with attitude, personality, motivation and memory, together with those physical and mental characteristics which constitute a person and his environment.