> When people drink alcohol and get sick, how come conditioned taste aversion
> doesn't take place?
As Rip pointed out, there are lots of people who, having had one bad
margarita-drenched night long ago, swear that they can no longer
tolerate the smell of tequila.
I did a PsycInfo search and found these:
Logue, A. W; Ophir, Iris; Strauss, Kerry E.
The acquisition of taste aversions in humans.
Behaviour Research & Therapy. Vol 19(4), 1981, 319-333.
Abstract
Administered a written questionnaire or an interview to 517 undergraduates
concerning their acquisition of illness-induced (taste) aversions to foods
and drinks. Ss reported 415 aversions, with 65% of Ss reporting at least 1
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 to the appearance or other aspects.
Extinction appeared more effective in decreasing the aversions than did
forgetting. The illness responsible for the forming of aversions was
usually attributed to the subsequently aversive food, but for 21% of the
reported aversions, Ss were sure that something else had caused their
illness. Finally, instances of aversions forming without food or drink
consumption and instances of observational learning were reported. Data
are similar to laboratory taste aversion data collected using other
species.
Logue, A. W; Logue, K. R; Strauss, Kerry E.
The acquisition of taste aversions in humans with eating and drinking
disorders.
Behaviour Research & Therapy. Vol 21(3), 1983, 275-289.
Abstract
A written questionnaire or interview concerned with acquisition of
illness-induced (taste) aversions to foods and drinks was given to 102
22-72 yr old hospitalized alcoholics, 16 college students who were heavy
consumers of alcohol, and 18 18-41 yr old females with anorexia nervosa
and/or bulimia. In most respects, taste-aversion acquisition in these 3
groups was similar to taste-aversion acquisition in a general college
student population previously studied by A. W. Logue et al (see PA, Vol
66:9477) and to taste-aversion acquisition in other species. In all 3
groups, 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
tastes rather than to the appearance or other aspects of the foods and
drinks. Extinction appeared more effective in decreasing the aversions
than did forgetting. While the illness responsible for the aversions
forming was usually attributed to the subsequently aversive food or drink,
in at least one-third of the cases Ss reported that something else might
have caused their illness. Aversions were more likely to have formed to
relatively less-familiar and less-preferred foods and drinks. However, the
hospitalized alcoholics reported fewer aversions, less generalization of
aversions, and stronger nausea as the cause of the aversions than did the
Ss of Logue et al.
Institution
State U New York, Stony Brook.
