BIT
Bitter Taste Aversion
Class: I - Natural Selection
EPA Total Score: 28 /100
Garcia, J. & Hankins, W. G. (1975). The evolution of bitter and the acquisition of toxiphobia. In D. A. Denton & J. P. Coghlan (Eds.), Olfaction and Taste V (pp. 39-45). New York: Academic Press.
Abstract: Natural aversions to bitter substances have been acquired by a wide variety of species through natural selection. Strong bitter tastes are rejected and milder ones are suspect when first encountered by humans. Similar reactions are noted in monkeys, infraprimate mammals, and birds. More surprising are the observations that many invertebrate and protozoan species reject flavors called bitter by man. For example, oysters, hydra and stentors also actively avoid quinine. Bitter receptors probably first appeared in the coelenterates during the Cambrian age, since modern sea anemones possess sensory receptors and display a pronounced rejection to quinine. Thus the rejection of bitter may represent a phylogenetically ancient natural response tendency. Bitter poisons are found throughout the world in plans, animals and water holes, hence rejection of bitter has survival value. In addition, many animals and plants have developed bitter flavors, secondarily taking advantage of this widespread natural rejection to fend off predators. Others visually mimic the toxic species. Closely related to the bitter rejection is the conditioned aversion whereby animals learn to reject any flavor followed by illness produced either by toxins or by dietary deficiencies. These conditioned rejections by mammals often resemble the behavioral reactions to bitter. Conditioned aversions are also widespread, and may represent an ancient form of associative learning.
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Supporting Evidence
40/100
Submitted by DJGlass
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Psychological evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Medical evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Physiological evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Cross-Cultural evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Genetic evidence for this EPA.
45/100
Submitted by DJGlass
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any supporting Hunter-Gatherer evidence for this EPA.
Supporting Evidence is evidence that suggests that this trait is an Evolved Psychological Adaptation (EPA) - i.e., that it has been shaped by natural selection to solve a particular adaptive problem.
Challenging Evidence
0/100
Submitted by DJGlass
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Psychological evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Medical evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Physiological evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Cross-Cultural evidence for this EPA.
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Genetic evidence for this EPA.
0/100
Submitted by DJGlass
No one has (yet) rated this source as containing any challenging Hunter-Gatherer evidence for this EPA.
Challenging Evidence is evidence that suggests that this trait is not an EPA - e.g., that it is a product of cultural learning or genetic drift, or maybe it does not exist at all. However over each line of evidence for a description.