Behavioural sciences (or Behavioral science) is a term that encompasses all the disciplines that explores the behaviour and strategies within and between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of humans and animal behaviour, through controlled and naturalistic experimental observations and rigorous formulations.

Difference between behavioural sciences and social sciences

The term behavioural sciences is often confused with the term social sciences. Though these two broad areas are interrelated and study systemic processes of behaviour, they differ on the level of scientific analysis of various dimensions of behaviour. Behavioural sciences essentially investigates the decision processes and communication strategies within and between organisms in a social system. It involves fields like Psychology and Social neuroscience among others. While social sciences study the structural level processes of a social system and its impact on social processes and social organization and involves fields like Sociology, Economics and Political science.

Categories of behavioural sciences

Behavioural sciences on the other hand includes two broad categories: Neural-Decision sciences and Social-Communication sciences. Decision sciences involves those disciplines primarily dealing with the decision processes and individual functioning used in the survival of organism in a social environment. These include Psychology, Cognitive organization theory , Psychobiology, Management science and Operations research (not to be confused with business administration) and social Neuroscience . While Communication sciences involves those fields that studies the communication strategies used by organisms and its dynamics between organisms in an environment. These include fields like Anthropology, Organizational behaviour, Organization science and Social networks.

Behavioural sciences as integrative sciences

Neural-Decision sciences forms the bridge between the behavioural sciences and Cognitive and natural sciences including through the interaction of bio-physical systems and cognitive processes in decision making of the organism. While Social-Communication sciences forms the link between behavioural sciences and social sciences through the interaction of individual cognitive and communication strategies and social-structural processes.

Thus behavioural sciences lies at the crossroads between the natural sciences and the social sciences, linking broad areas of scientific exploration.

Selected Bibliography

• E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger, and A. D. Kline, editors. Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science. Prometheus Books, New York.

External links

• http://www.cpa.ca/ac-main.html (canadian journal of behavioural sciences)

• https://www.casbs.org/ (Centre for advanced study in the behavioral sciences - Stanford University)