We make countless decisions every day. Most of the time, our gut feeling decides which choice we make. Gut decisions are important and help us to make decisions when we lack information. They save us a lot of thinking. After all, we can't be experts in everything.

Gut instinct often plays a decisive role when shopping for food too. Labels, product labelling and illustrations are supposed to help us make decisions. However, this often conveys a false perception of products. The lone cow in a lush green meadow on many organic products conveys an image of naturalness that does not exist: «For many people, natural is considered morally and aesthetically better», says Angela Bearth, behavioural psychologist at ETH Zurich.

Even though our gut feeling is important when making decisions, it sometimes leads us astray. In a study, Angela Bearth found that many people automatically perceive synthetically produced substances as dangerous. Organic cleaners, on the other hand, are perceived as harmless, even if this is not the case in reality. When assessing whether a substance is toxic, it does not matter whether it is «chemical» or «natural». So where does the fear of synthetic substances come from? «It's because of the attributes of the risk», says Bearth. «We are less afraid of risks that we feel we can personally influence.» This applies, for example, to smoking or driving a car. Pesticides, on the other hand, are seen as something unknown, over which we have less influence. More on the topic in the podcast.