behaviorist

noun

be·​hav·​ior·​ist bi-ˈhā-vyə-rist 

bē-

1

: a person who advocates or practices behaviorism

2

: a person who specializes in the study of behavior

an animal behaviorist

behaviorist adjective

Examples of behaviorist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The most important of these, the behaviorists hold, is loss-aversion: Why, for example, does the loss of $100 hurt about twice as much as the gaining of $100 brings pleasure? —Robert D. Hershey Jr., New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024

The 2017 eclipse also inspired two animal behaviorists to study its impact on turkey vultures at the Joseph A. Sgaggero Memorial Park in Dover Plains, New York, on Aug. 21, 2017, as documented in a March 2018 article in The Kingbird, a quarterly journal devoted to New York State ornithology. —Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024

In recent years, animal behaviorists have researched the impact of E-collars on animal welfare. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024

While this tale is thousands of years old, animal behaviorists still use this challenge to study corvids (which include crows, ravens, jays, and magpies) and their use of tools. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Ars Technica, 14 Dec. 2023

Posing as a Belgian national who was a veterinarian and animal behaviorist living in St. Louis, the scammers made plans to meet with her but never followed through. —CBS News, 20 Dec. 2023

How can an animal behaviorist help a dog with separation anxiety? —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 12 Oct. 2022

Cat behaviorist Hannah McCoy highlighted the manifold dangers that leashed cats face, particularly in the hubbub of L.A. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023

Like many of her peers, Kennedy rejects what is often called the behaviorist approach to parenting, in which caregivers attempt to condition children’s behavior by wielding rewards and punishments—sticker charts, time-outs, and the like. —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

behaviorist

1 of 2 noun

be·​hav·​ior·​ist

variants or chiefly British behaviourist

-rəst 

1

: a person who advocates or practices behaviorism

2

: a person who specializes in the study of behavior

Animal behaviorists are often consulted regarding such problems as aggression, self-mutilation, food aversion and inappropriate urination or defecation.

—Tom Ewing, Dog Watch

behaviorist

2 of 2 adjective

: of or relating to behaviorism

behaviorist psychology