(film).

Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English; see spelling differences) is

the actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in
conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the other systems or
organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment. It is the computed 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.[1]
Taking a behavior informatics perspective, a behavior consists of behavior actor, operation,
interactions, and their properties. A behavior can be represented as a behavior vector.[2]
ModelsEdit
BiologyEdit
Main article: Behavioral ecology

Although there is some disagreement as to how to precisely define behavior in a biological

context, one common interpretation based on a meta-analysis of scientific literature states that
"behavior is the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organisms
(individuals or groups) to internal and/or external stimuli".[3]
A broader definition of behavior, applicable to plants and other organisms, is similar to the
concept of phenotypic plasticity. It describes behavior as a response to an event or environment
change during the course of the lifetime of an individual, differing from other physiological or
biochemical changes that occur more rapidly, and excluding changes that are result of
development (ontogeny).[4][5]
Behaviors can be either innate or learned from the environment.
Behavior can be regarded as any action of an organism that changes its relationship to its
environment. Behavior provides outputs from the organism to the environment.[6]
Human behaviorEdit
Main article: Human behavior

Human behavior is believed to be influenced by the endocrine system and the nervous system. It

is most commonly believed that complexity in the behavior of an organism is correlated to the
complexity of its nervous system. Generally, organisms with more complex nervous systems
have a greater capacity to learn new responses and thus adjust their behavior.[7]
Animal behaviorEdit
Main article: Ethology

Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behavior, usually with a focus on

behavior under natural conditions, and viewing behavior as an evolutionarily adaptive trait.
[8] behaviorism is a term that also describes the scientific and objective study of animal behavior,
usually referring to measured responses to stimuli or trained behavioral responses in
a laboratory context, without a particular emphasis on evolutionary adaptivity.[9]
Consumer behaviorEdit
Consumers behavior

Consumer behavior refers to the processes consumers go through, and reactions they have
towards products or services[10] (Dowhan, 2013). It is to do with consumption, and the processes
consumers go through around purchasing and consuming goods and services[11] (Szwacka-
Mokrzycka, 2015). Consumers recognise needs or wants, and go through a process to satisfy
these needs. Consumer behavior is the process they go through as customers, which includes
types of products purchased, amount spent, frequency of purchases and what influences them to
make the purchase decision or not. There is a lot that influences consumer behavior, with
contributions from both internal and external factors[11] (Szwacka-Mokrzycka, 2015). Internal
factors include attitudes, needs, motives, preferences and perceptual processes, whilst external
factors include marketing activities, social and economic factors, and cultural
aspects[11] (Szwacka-Mokrzycka, 2015). Doctor Lars Perner of the University of Southern
California claims that there are also physical factors that influence consumer behavior, for
example if a consumer is hungry, then this physical feeling of hunger will influence them so that
they go and purchase a sandwich to satisfy the hunger[12] (Perner, 2008).
Consumer decision making

There is a model described by Lars Perner which illustrates the decision making process with
regards to consumer behavior. It begins with recognition of a problem, the consumer recognises
a need or want which has not been satisfied. This leads the consumer to search for information, if
it is a low involvement product then the search will be internal, identifying alternatives purely
from memory. If the product is high involvement then the search be more thorough, such as
reading reviews or reports or asking friends. The consumer will then evaluate his or her
alternatives, comparing price, quality, doing trade-offs between products and narrowing down
the choice by eliminating the less appealing products until there is one left. After this has been
identified, the consumer will purchase the product. Finally the consumer will evaluate the
purchase decision, and the purchased product, bringing in factors such as value for money,
quality of goods and purchase experience[12] (Model taken from Perner, 2008). However, this
logical process does not always happen this way, people are emotional and irrational creatures.
People make decisions with emotion and then justify it with logic according to Robert Caladini
Ph.D Psychology.
How the 4P's influence consumer behavior

The 4 P's are a marketing tool, and stand for Price, Promotion, Product and Place or Product
Placement[13] (Clemons, 2008). Consumer behavior is influenced greatly by business to
consumer marketing, so being a prominent marketing tool, the 4 P's will have an effect on
consumer's behavior. The price of a good or service is largely determined by the market, as
businesses will set their prices to be similar to that of other business so as to remain competitive
whilst making a profit[13] (Clemons, 2008). When market prices for a product are high, it will
cause consumers to purchase less and use purchased goods for longer periods of time, meaning
they are purchasing the product less often. Alternatively, when market prices for a product are
low, consumers are more likely to purchase more of the product, and more often. The way that
promotion influences consumer behavior has changed over time. In the past, large promotional
campaigns and heavy advertising would convert into sales for a business, but nowadays
businesses can have success on products with little or no advertising[13] (Clemons, 2008). This is
due to the Internet, and in particular social media. They rely on word of mouth from consumers
using social media, and as products trend online, so sales increase as products effectively
promote themselves[13] (Clemons, 2008). Thus, promotion by businesses does not necessarily
result in consumer behavior trending towards purchasing products. The way that product
influences consumer behavior is through consumer willingness to pay, and consumer
preferences[13] (Clemons, 2008). This means that even if a company were to have a long history
of products in the market, consumers will still pick a cheaper product over the company in
question's product if it means they will pay less for something that is very similar[13] (Clemons,
2008). This is due to consumer willingness to pay, or their willingness to part with their money
they have earned. Product also influences consumer behavior through customer preferences. For
example, take Pepsi vs Coca-Cola, a Pepsi-drinker is less likely to purchase Coca-Cola, even if it
is cheaper and more convenient. This is due to the preference of the consumer, and no matter
how hard the opposing company tries they will not be able to force the customer to change their
mind. Product placement in the modern era has little influence on consumer behavior, due to the
availability of goods online[13] (Clemons, 2008). If a customer can purchase a good from the
comfort of their home instead of purchasing in-store, then the placement of products is not going
to influence their purchase decision.
In managementEdit
Behavior outside of psychology includes

OrganizationalEdit
In management, behaviors are associated with desired or undesired focuses. Managers generally
note what the desired outcome is, but behavioral patterns can take over. These patterns are the
reference to how often the desired behavior actually occurs. Before a behavior actually occurs,
antecedents focus on the stimuli that influence the behavior that is about to happen. After the
behavior occurs, consequences fall into place. Consequences consist of rewards or punishments.

Social behaviorEdit
Main article: Social behavior

Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, and
encompasses any behavior in which one member affects the other. This is due to
an interaction among those members. Social behavior can be seen as similar to an exchange of
goods, with the expectation that when one gives, one will receive the same. This behavior can be
affected by both the qualities of the individual and the environmental (situational) factors.
Therefore, social behavior arises as a result of an interaction between the two—the organism and
its environment. This means that, in regards to humans, social behavior can be determined by
both the individual characteristics of the person, and the situation they are in