Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour. It sits in the interstice between fields such as psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, behavioral biology, behavioral genetics and social science. While the term can technically be applied to the study of behaviour amongst all living organisms, it is nearly always used with reference to humans as the primary target of investigation (though animals may be studied in some instances, e.g. invasive techniques).

Behavioural science has its roots in the systematic study of human and animal behaviour, shaped by work in psychology, behavioural neuroscience, and related disciplines. Early experimental psychologists such as B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, and John B. Watson developed methods for observing, measuring, and modifying behaviour, while advances in neuroscience connected behaviour to brain structure, neurochemistry, and physiology.

Advances in neuroscience deepened the understanding of the biological basis of behaviour, linking neural structures, neurotransmitters, and physiological processes to observable actions. This integration of biology and psychology helped establish behavioural neuroscience as a core branch of the field.

The behavioural sciences encompass both natural and social scientific disciplines, including various branches of psychology, neuroscience and biobehavioural sciences, behavioural economics and certain branches of criminology, sociology and political science. This interdisciplinary nature allows behavioural scientists to coordinate findings from psychological experiments, genetics and neuroimaging, self-report studies, interspecies and cross-cultural comparisons, and correlational and longitudinal designs to understand the nature, frequency, mechanisms, causes and consequences of given behaviours.

With respect to the applied behavioural science and behavioural insights, the focus is usually narrower, tending to encompass cognitive psychology, social psychology and behavioural economics generally, and invoking other more specific fields (e.g. health psychology) where needed. In applied settings behavioural scientists exploit their knowledge of cognitive biases, heuristics, and peculiarities of how decision-making is affected by various factors to develop behaviour change interventions or develop policies which 'nudge' people to acting more auspiciously (see Applications below).

Robila explains how using modern technology to study and understand behavioral patterns on a greater scale, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and greater data has a future in brightening up behavioral science assistance/ research. Creating cutting-edge therapies and interventions with immersive technology like virtual reality/ AI would also be beneficial to behavioral science future(s). These concepts are only a hint of the many paths behavioral science may take in the future.

Several universities are recognized for their prominent behavioural science research programs and laboratories. These institutions integrate interdisciplinary approaches combining psychology, neuroscience, and computational methods to advance understanding of behaviour and develop applied interventions.

Notable examples include: