Behavior analysts define behavior as anything an organism does A crucial criterion for identifying behavior is the Dead Mans Test which states If a dead man can do it it aint behavior This test helps distinguish between actions performed by an organism and events that happen to an organism or internal states A student actively raises their hand is clearly something the student does passing the Dead Mans Test A child is observed lying motionless on the couch fails the Dead Mans Test a dead person can lie motionless This is not considered an active doing by the organism A person is suddenly splashed by a passing car also fails the Dead Mans Test a dead person can be splashed This is an event happening to the person not something the person is doing A client reports feeling intensely hungry refers to an internal state or private event feeling hungry not an observable or measurable doing of the organism in the same way raising a hand is While behavior analysts acknowledge private events like thinking internal physiological processes or subjective feelings like hunger are generally not classified as behaviors themselves for the purpose of direct observation and intervention as the feeling of hunger is something that occurs to the person rather than something they actively do The report of feeling hungry is a behavior a verbal one but the feeling itself is not Given the options the feeling of hunger is the best fit for not considered a behavior based on the texts emphasis on being hungry is not a behavior and internal functions and processes are also not behaviors