Mathematicians and economists frequently involve themselves in behavioral science as they pose questions like, "How does this behavior effect the economy?" or research the financial impact of a particular decision made by an individual or a company, They seek to discover the reasons why people react the way they do to market shifts and what motivates their purchasing decisions.
Anthropology, which is the study of how people function in groups, is a sub division of behavioral science. An anthropologist might want to know, for example, "What are the causes of conflict between poor inner-city communities and adjacent affluent communities?"
A psychologist attempts to understand how people communicate and interact with each other. He might ask, "How do we form our first impressions of other people?" or "How do our early experiences effect our behavior later on?" The purpose of such questions is to improve those interactions.
In a field of ethology, scientists explore why people will express an opinion or belief but act in a different way once they're placed in a certain situation. The question they ask is, "What is the role of instinct in human decision making?"
Cognitive theory has to do with the role of language in establishing attitudes within a group of people. Behavior scientists who specialize in cognitive theory study how racism and nationalism start and are perpetuated. They also examine why people tolerate behaviors as a part of a group that they would not tolerate as an individual,
Organizations like the FBI employ behavioral scientists to help them understand criminals. Part of this process is "profiling," where they seek to answer questions like, "What kind of person is most likely to commit this particular crime?"; "What do the details of this crime tell us about its perpetrator?" and "What life events make a person likely to turn to crime?"