The acquisition of taste aversions in humans

A written questionnaire or an interview was given to 517 undergraduates concerning their acquisition of illness-induced (taste) aversions to foods and drinks. The subjects reported 415 aversions, with 65% of the subjects reporting at least one aversion. The aversions were more likely to be reported as having been formed through forward rather than simultaneous or backward conditioning, and long-delay learning was frequent. The aversions usually formed to the taste of the foods, rather than the appearance or other aspects of the foods. Extinction appeared more effective in decreasing the aversions than did forgetting. The illness responsible for the aversion's forming was usually attributed to the subsequently aversive food, but for 21% of the reported aversions subjects were sure that something else had caused their illness. Aversions were more likely to have formed to relatively less familiar and less preferred foods. Aversions were also more likely to form between the ages of 13 and 20. Generalization of the aversions to similar foods occurred in 29% of the cases. Approximately one fourth of the aversions were to alcoholic beverages. Finally, instances of aversions forming without food or drink consumption and instances of observational learning were reported. The data were quite similar to laboratory taste aversion data collected using other species and can help in optimizing taste aversion treatments of eating and drinking disorders. Taste aversions among humans are frequent and strong.