Why do we prefer to ignore negative information?
Ostrich Effect
, explained.What is the Ostrich Effect?
The ostrich effect, also known as the ostrich problem, is a cognitive bias that describes how people often avoid negative information, including feedback that could help them monitor their goal progress. Instead of dealing with the situation, we bury our heads in the sand, like ostriches. This avoidance can often make things worse, incurring costs that we might not have had to pay if we had faced things head-on.
Where this bias occurs
Let’s say you’ve been eating out a lot recently, probably more than you should. You know you should probably check your bank account balance to see the damage, but every time you think about doing so, you start to feel anxious—you know the situation is bad, but you don’t want to see how bad. Ultimately, you keep up your bad spending habits, but you rarely check to see how much money you’re spending.
While the ostrich effect often manifests as a form of physical avoidance (like not checking your bank balance or reading the news), it can also take the form of psychological avoidance. This goes beyond actively avoiding unpleasant information and involves trying to avoid even thinking about anything that makes us feel uncomfortable.9 For instance, if you’re concerned about your recent spending habits, you might try to distract yourself from thinking about the amount of money in your bank account by scrolling on social media. If you’re stressed out about a worrisome health symptom, you might try to pay less attention to how you’re feeling or downplay your concerns by keeping them to yourself. Overall, the ostrich effect prevents us from confronting uncomfortable realities, even if this ends up hurting us in the long run.
