1. A method for behavior based control of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: identifying at least one input device in the autonomous vehicle; providing at least one actuator associated with the at least one input device; providing at least one arbiter associated with the at least one actuator; defining a plurality of behaviors associated with the at least one actuator, defining at least one action set, each action set characterized at least in part by a priority and comprising a plurality of alternative actions ranked according to a corresponding plurality of preferences; selecting, by the at least one arbiter, the action set having the highest corresponding priority; selecting, by the at least one arbiter, from the selected action set, of the alternative action having the highest corresponding preference; and operating the at least one input device in accordance with the selected alternative action; wherein each of the behaviors implements at least one of (i) a providing the at least one action set, and (ii) a modifying at least a portion of the selected action set.