How do humans “develop” taste for food/drinks? For example: Beer, Wine etc.
In: 5
**TL;DR:** ***There’s two answers. First, our taste buds actually change. Second, the people and events around us help us adapt to it.***
The shorter one is that our ability to taste stuff changes as we age. We don’t generally like broccoli or onions or garlic when we’re young. We find those tastes a LOT milder when we’re older because our reactions to chemicals also change. So the sulfury stench of pickles or broccoli becomes a mild bitter note to balance sweetness later.
The second, more complex reason, has to do with positive association. What that means is “after a few times of doing something, I realized that it wasn’t as unpleasant as I thought, and actually there were some pleasant or positive aspects of it too.”
For example: dude takes his first shot of hard liquor at first drinking age. UGH. TERRIBLE. But later, he realized that he was the centre of attention from his “drinking age party buds” for that time. That was a positive. And he survived it. Another positive. Also, he recalls them talking about it afterward, so THEY remember HIM. Another positive. So he tries again. Now he’s used to the taste a bit, can deal with it. And it’s still pleasant, and he’s behaving like the others around him, so it’s now something he can really enjoy because it’s a repeating pleasant thing to look forward to.
Same thing for bad-testing veggies. As you get older, you realize that, hey most people my age actually EAT onions, or spaghetti with a little crushed pepper on it, or zippy jalapeno boats with mozza. Or maybe you don’t want to look weird in front of a date with your aversion so you sigh and dig in. That’s motivation for you to try it again yourself… and when you’re older, because your taste sense changes, it’s not as unpleasant… and eventually becomes pleasant.
(One more thing: habit-forming substances or activities. We have a tendency to make up excuses for doing stuff that we’ve formed a habit for. The positive-result cycle explains these until we’re addicted.)
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