The psychological categorization of foods and non-foods: A preliminary taxonomy of food rejections

Abstract

The problem of how humans come to define food is investigated by examining the full range of substances rejected as food in one subculture. College students answered questions about their attitudes and reactions to rejected substances. Patterns of attitudes emerged which suggested the existence of at least three different psychological types of rejections: (1) distaste: rejection primarily because of taste, smell, or texture; (2) danger: rejection primarily because of fear of bodily harm; and (3) disgust: a strong affect-laden rejection based primarily on the idea of what something is or knowledge of its origin. Disgusting substances in trace amounts usually can render an acceptable food unacceptable and are almost always animal products. We propose the existence of a fourth category of affectively neutral rejections also based primarily on ideational grounds.