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
possibly help them.
 The Ostrich Effect is common in middle school life:

• Some kids tend to only look and show-off their 8‘s, and not their 4‘s or
5‘s.
• They are avoid negative information and only look at the positive ones.

The Ostrich Effect is common in the “real world:

• For example, an investor might ignore negative news about a

company and focus only on positive news, leading them to make an
unwise investment decision.

negative information can actually help; negative information tells you what mistakes you have made
and how you can improve.
• The Ostrich Effect can be dangerous to the “real” world.
• This bias can lead to financial losses, as people may
ignore signs of financial problems or fail to address them.
• This can result in missed payments, debt, and other
difficulties.
• It can also lead us to make poor decisions because we are
not considering all of the information.
 You can spot it in the “real” world in many different ways:

• Inattention. This form of avoidance involves not paying proper

attention to information, after it has already become available.

• Biased interpretation of information. This form of avoidance

involves interpreting information in such a way that its
unpleasantness are ignored.

• Forgetting. This final form of avoidance involves forgetting

unpleasant information after it has already been processed.
 Works Cited
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Effectiviology. Itamar Shatz, effectiviology.com/ostrich-effect/. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
"#MidWeekMindset The Ostrich Effect." YouTube, uploaded by Lauren Johnson, Google, 3
Nov. 2022, youtu.be/QqhJVVRdqtE. Accessed 20 Sep. 2023.
Obrecht, Cliff. Man Being Biased. Canva, Google. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
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Obrecht, Cliff Stocks Going down. Canva, Google. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
Tello, Tech. Ostrich Effect: Are You Avoiding Unpleasant Information? - TechTello.
Google, www.techtello.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ostrich-effect.png. Accessed 21
Sep. 2023.