Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to consider the acquisition, maintenance, and extinction of human food aversions. Questionaires concerning food aversions and preferences were completed by 243 collage students (102 males, 141 females).
Food preferences patterns reported by the subjects who acquired the aversions were similar to those by the subjects who had extinguished them. The aversions were acquired mostly before 12 years old, especially in 4-6 years old. Some of them were extinguished mostly after 13 years old. In particular, many of aversions acquired in 7-9 years were extinguished. Those, however, acquired before six years old tended to be maintained longer than those in 7-12 years. Those after 13 years old also tended to be maintained.
Those acquired by the subjects were positively related to those by their family members.
