The question addresses an understanding of aversion, both in relation to how an animal can develop an affinity towards someone who does not reciprocate the feeling, and in the way humans develop long-lasting aversions due to negative experiences. This concept can also be tied to personal biases and emotions, as illustrated in various literary examples discussing human behavior and sentiment.
Aversion is a psychological phenomenon that refers to a strong feeling of dislike or antipathy toward something. In the context provided, it is interesting to note the paradox of the cat's increasing partiality for someone who has a strong aversion to it.
This can be closely related to taste aversion in psychology, where a person develops an aversion to a certain food after a negative experience, despite the food not being the cause of the illness. The student's question involves understanding these emotions and the inexplicable attraction of the cat despite the aversion, as well as the implications in human psychology regarding association and conditioning.
Similarly, the human interactions described in the other excerpts also deal with emotions and personal biases, including repulsion, subjugation, and revulsion, which all interface with how individuals perceive and interact with the world around them. We can see the complexities of human emotions and prejudices as they are expressed through behaviors and sentiments, highlighting the importance of understanding these concepts in literature and psychology.
With my aversion to this cat, however, its partiality for myself seemed to increase. It followed my footsteps
with a pertinacity which it would be difficult to make the reader comprehend.
aversion: noun
1. a strong feeling of dislike, opposition, repugnance, or antipathy (usually followed by to): a strong aversion to
snakes and spiders.
2. a cause or object of dislike; person or thing that causes antipathy: His pet aversion is guests who are
always late.
3. Obsolete the act of averting; a turning away or preventing.
What are the psychological parallels between a cat developing an affinity towards someone who harbors aversion and the concept of taste aversion in humans? How can this phenomenon be related to broader aspects of human psychology, including personal biases, emotions, and conditioning, as illustrated in various literary examples discussing human behavior and sentiment?