aversion

Aversion is a strong dislike or repugnance toward something or someone, often accompanied by avoidance or rejection. It can be emotional, cognitive, or behavioral, and may be triggered by taste, smell, idea, situation, or person. It ranges from mild dislike to intense revulsion.

Aversions can be innate or learned. Evolutionarily, aversions to spoiled food or dangerous stimuli help survival. Learned aversions occur through conditioning; a taste or food paired with illness can produce a long-lasting conditioned taste aversion, sometimes after a single association with a delayed consequence. Aversive stimuli provoke withdrawal or avoidance responses.

In psychology and medicine, aversion therapy uses negative stimuli or punishments to reduce undesirable behaviors, such as substance use or overeating. The approach is controversial and involves ethical considerations about autonomy and distress. Pharmacological methods, such as disulfiram for alcohol use, create unpleasant reactions to the target substance.

In daily life, aversion shapes preferences and decisions, influencing food choices, social attitudes, and responses to ideas or situations. Understanding aversion involves examining learning history, emotion, and context, since dislikes can be fleeting or persistent.