ritual behavior

n. 1. Repeated actions that are intended to ward off or undo past actions or situations, which are common among persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenics. 2. Culturally prescribed conduct, as in religious rituals or a bride's walking down the aisle with her father in U.S. weddings. 3. Any established procedure and routine such as having a cup of coffee in the morning. 4. Instinctive animal behavior, as in specieswide premating gestures or dances among many species of animals.