An ontological framework for organising and describing behaviours: The Human Behaviour Ontology

Background Human behaviours have been classified in domains such as health, occupation and sustainability. We aimed to develop a broadly applicable behavioural framework to facilitate integrating evidence across domains. Methods The Human Behaviour Ontology (HBO), a part of the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology (BCIO), was developed by: (1) specifying its scope, (2) identifying candidate classes from existing classifications, (3) refining it by annotating behaviours in relevant literature, (4) a stakeholder review with behavioural and ontology experts, (5) testing the inter-rater reliability of its use in annotating research reports, (6) refining classes and their relations, (7) reviewing its coverage of behaviours in theories and (8) publishing its computer-readable version. Results The initial ontology contained 128 classes (Steps 1–4), achieving an inter-rater reliability of 0.63 for familiar researchers and 0.74 after minor adjustments (to the ontology and guidance) for unfamiliar researchers. Following Steps 6–7, the published ontology included 230 classes, with six upper-level behavioural classes: human behaviour, individual human behaviour, individual human behaviour pattern, individual human behaviour change, population behaviour and population behaviour pattern. ‘Individual human behaviour’ was defined as “ a bodily process of a human that involves co-ordinated contraction of striated muscles controlled by the brain ”, with its 159 subclasses organised across high-level classes relating to: experiences (e.g., playing); expression (e.g., laughing); reflectiveness; harm (e.g., self-injury behaviour); harm prevention; coping; domestic activities; goals; habits; health (e.g., undergoing vaccination); life-function (e.g., breathing behaviour); interactions with materials (e.g., consumption); bodily care (e.g., washing); position (e.g., postural behaviour); social environments (e.g., communication); and behavioural substitution. Additional classes needed for characterising behaviours (e.g., frequency and duration), their attributes and behavioural abstinence were included. Relations were defined for timings, locations, participants, mental processes, functions, goals and outcomes. Conclusions The HBO provides an extensive and detailed framework for describing human behaviours.