Author: Finnegan Gavelli

During a preschool party many years ago, I was taught a very young lesson in taste aversion when trying to eat eggs. Some time after having more than enough, I experienced an unexpected wave of nausea. The food I used to enjoy now triggered an instinctual aversion, a rapid transformation in my preferences. The experience taught me the potent influence of associative learning on our instinctual preferences. From then on, the mere sight of scrambled eggs elicits an unpleasant reaction, a reminder that our taste experiences are intricately woven with memories and sensations, shaping our future cravings and aversions. This is known as taste aversion.
Taste aversion is a psychological phenomenon that encapsulates the swift development of a strong dislike or avoidance towards a particular food or drink following a negative experience. This unique form of classical conditioning challenges the conventional understanding of learned associations, as it often requires only a single pairing of a specific taste with an adverse consequence, such as nausea or illness. Unlike the more gradual process of classical conditioning, taste aversion exhibits a remarkable specificity and durability.
One classic example of taste aversion involves a person consuming a specific food shortly before falling ill. The association between the taste of that food and the subsequent illness forms rapidly, leading to an enduring aversion to the once-favored item. This aversion is adaptive, serving as a protective mechanism to prevent the consumption of potentially harmful substances in the future.
Taste aversion highlights the intricate interplay between the sensory experiences of taste and the emotional responses tied to them. It showcases the brain’s ability to create strong connections between flavors and their consequences, shaping our dietary preferences in profound ways. This phenomenon is not limited to humans; animals also exhibit taste aversion, emphasizing its evolutionary significance as a survival mechanism.
Understanding taste aversion sheds light on the complexities of human behavior and learning, illustrating how our brains navigate the world through a delicate balance of pleasure and aversion. It underscores the powerful impact that singular taste experiences can have on our long-term culinary preferences, revealing the intricate web of associations woven into the fabric of our taste perceptions.

Proactive interference is a cognitive phenomenon that occurs when previously learned information interferes with an individual’s ability to learn and recall new information. In essence, it’s the idea that old memories or knowledge inhibit the formation and retrieval of new memories or knowledge. This interference arises because past information disrupts the proper encoding and consolidation of new information in the memory system.
A classic example of proactive interference is trying to learn a new language. If you’ve previously learned a language that’s structurally similar to the new one you’re trying to acquire, your existing knowledge may interfere with your ability to remember and use new vocabulary and grammar rules effectively. This is because your brain naturally attempts to apply the familiar language’s rules and vocabulary to the new one, which can result in errors and confusion.
Another everyday scenario where proactive interference is noticeable is when recalling someone’s new phone number or address after you’ve had their old contact information memorized. The old information interferes with your ability to remember and use the new data.
Proactive interference becomes more apparent when there is a significant similarity between the previously learned material and the new material. The stronger the connection between the old and new information, the greater the potential for interference.
However, the effects of proactive interference can be mitigated. Strategies like deliberate spacing of study sessions and using techniques such as mnemonic devices and mental organization can help reduce the interference, allowing the encoding and retrieval of new information to be more successful.
I have had a particularly hard time with proactive interference when learning languages throughout my life. Being as my father is an Italian immigrant, I grew up learning Italian in the household. However, in preschool I was also taught Spanish because of how prevalent the language is in America. This conflict continued into middle and high school, as Spanish was one of the few languages offered and Italian was not. However, over time I learned to separate the two languages and gain more control.