conditioned aversion

a tendency or desire to avoid one stimulus that results from its pairing with another stimulus that is experienced as unpleasant. Such an aversion may arise after a single pairing of the stimuli (see conditioned taste aversion) or as part of a process of deliberate repeated pairings (as in aversion conditioning). For example, a person who is trying to stop nail biting may paint her fingernails with a bitter substance, such that the foul taste experienced each time she chews a nail eventually leads to cessation of the behavior.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

isotropy

n. the state of being the same, especially with respect to direction or orientation, symmetry of form, or uniformity of responses in the different parts of something. Compare anisotropy. —isotropic adj.