Adaptive Behavior

Adaptive behavior is the capacity of a system — biological, artificial, or social — to modify its actions in response to environmental feedback in ways that improve its performance or survival. It is the fundamental pattern of problem solving across all scales: from bacterial chemotaxis to reinforcement learning algorithms to institutional reform. What distinguishes adaptive behavior from mere reactivity is the presence of a feedback loop in which the system's internal model or strategy is updated based on outcomes, not merely triggered by stimuli. In systems theory, adaptive behavior is the bridge between the mechanics of a system and its capacity to persist in changing environments. See also: Adaptive dynamics, Learning, Agent-based modeling, Homeostasis