In one of the articles on experts’ and lay-people’s perceptions of toxicological principles, Kraus, Malmfors, and Slovic (1992) coined the expression ‘intuitive toxicology.’ The term describes how people relied on their senses of sight, taste or smell to detect toxicological risks before the science of risk analysis was introduced. Substances or products consumed or used by consumers (e.g., food additives, cleaning product) are put through intensive risk assessment. However, these procedures are complex and controversy exists between experts in regards to the uncertainty linked to them. Moreover, there is a lot of misinformation available on allegedly “dangerous chemicals,” particularly on the internet. Consumers lack the necessary background information, time or motivation to judge the uncertainty linked to risk assessment themselves, and rely on heuristics and on their trust in different (potentially biased) information sources.
This symposium aims at revisiting Kraus et al.’s (1992) seminal work on ‘intuitive toxicology’ by first, presenting research on people’s knowledge and perception of the principles of toxicology and second, relating these findings to specific applications, such as pesticides and household cleaning products. There will a short introduction by the symposium’s chair, followed by 4 presentations and an audience discussion at the end.