John Garcia (b. 1917) John Garcia grew up working on farms in northern California. In his late 20s, Garcia enrolled at a community college. At the age of 48, Garcia earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley (Garcia, 1997). Garcia was one of the first researchers to experimentally demonstrate the existence of taste aversions and other “exceptions” to the general laws of classical conditioning. His research emphasized the importance of the evolutionary forces that shape the learning process.