Concepts and Principles

Behavior is the activity of living organisms — anything an organism does that involves action and interaction with the environment, often summarized as movement of an organism's muscles or glands.

A response is a single instance or occurrence of a particular class of behavior — one specific action taken at a given moment.

A response class is a group of responses that produce the same effect on the environment (share a common function), even if their topographies differ.

Topography refers to the physical form or movements that make up a behavior; function refers to the effect the behavior produces on the environment (its consequence/purpose).

Topography-based classes group responses by physical form; function-based classes group responses by their shared effect on the environment regardless of form.

A stimulus is an energy change (in the environment) that affects an organism through its receptor cells — any event or condition that can be detected by the senses and may influence behavior.