著者

松井 大

出版者

THE JAPANESE SOCIETY FOR ANIMAL PSYCHOLOGY

雑誌

動物心理学研究 (ISSN:09168419)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.73, no.1, pp.1-14, 2023 (Released:2023-06-21)

参考文献数

70

被引用文献数

1 1

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Behavior is studied in several disciplines including psychology, ethology, and neuroscience. However, the definition of behavior has never been consistent not only across disciplines, but also between researchers within a field. The present article reviews this inconsistency and confusion both in the modern research fields and historical literatures. We find that the definitions of behavior are closely tied to the system of the fields, and the inconsistency of definitions rises from the differences of fields. As a result, the complete definition of behavior seems challenging. Instead of seeking for the complete definition, it is more productive to identify what makes definitions of behavior inconsistent. The article, thus, proposes three points to reduce the confusion accompanied by the inconsistency of the definitions: (1) stipulation of an organism as a whole and environment (2) internal-external distinction, and (3) formulation of the relationships between an organism and environment.