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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Neophobia

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Synonyms

Cainophobia; Neophilia (antonym)

Definition

A fear of the unfamiliar. Food neophobia refers to the tendency to avoid eating unfamiliar foods.

Introduction

Food neophobia – a fear of eating unfamiliar foods – differs from picky eating or simply being a little fussy. Although there is evidence that these characteristics are correlated (Pelchat and Pliner 1986), neophobia serves as an evolutionary survival mechanism. Some mushrooms, for example, contain harmful toxins, so we are rightly cautious when we come across one in the wild. This initial neophobia could protect us from digesting a possibly lethal substance. In our current, food-saturated, and highly processed eating environment, it is perhaps difficult to imagine these sorts of life-or-death decisions having a great impact on us. However, they would have been very real problems for our ancestors. Through natural selection, then, these problems shaped the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms that underlie our eating...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Tess Langfield

Authors
  1. Tess Langfield
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Correspondence to Tess Langfield .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Langfield, T. (2016). Neophobia. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2945-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2945-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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