Synonyms
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...
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Al-Shawaf, L., Lewis, D. M., Alley, T. R., & Buss, D. M. (2015). Mating strategy, disgust, and food neophobia. Appetite, 85, 30–35.
Birch, L. L. (1999). Development of food preferences. Annual review of nutrition, 19(1), 41–62.
Birch, L. L., Gunder, L., Grimm-Thomas, K., & Laing, D. G. (1998). Infants’ consumption of a new food enhances acceptance of similar foods. Appetite, 30(3), 283–295.
Cashdan, E. (1998). Adaptiveness of food learning and food aversions in children. Social Science Information, 37(4), 613–632.
Pelchat, M. L., & Pliner, P. (1986). Antecedents and correlates of feeding problems in young children. Journal of Nutrition Education, 18(1), 23–29.
Pollan, M. (2006). The omnivore’s dilemma: A natural history of four meals. New York: Penguin.
Rozin, P. (1976). The selection of foods by rats, humans, and other animals. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 6, 21–76.
Wardle, J., & Cooke, L. (2008). Genetic and environmental determinants of children’s food preferences. British Journal of Nutrition, 99(S1), S15–S21.
Wertz, A. E., & Wynn, K. (2014). Selective social learning of plant edibility in 6-and 18-month-old infants. Psychological science, 25, 874–882.
Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of personality and social psychology, 9(2p2), 1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
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
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2945-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
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