Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated August 2025
Definition
Smell aversion refers to a strong and negative reaction towards particular odors, often resulting from a traumatic experience or conditioning. It can lead to avoidance behaviors and heightened anxiety when exposed to the specific smell.
This is a learning process where an association is formed between two stimuli, resulting in a response being elicited by one stimulus when the other stimulus is present.