✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

Ostrich Effect - The Decision Lab

thedecisionlab.com · 370 words · saved by 1 readers

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. Most of us work & live in environments that aren’t optimized for solid decision-making. We work with organizations of all kinds to identify sources of cognitive bias & develop tailored solutions. 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 what the damage is, 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. In the end, you keep up your bad spending habits, but you almost never check to see how

Why do we prefer to ignore negative information? The Ostrich Effect , explained. Bias Where this bias occurs Where this bias occurs Individual effects Systemic effects Why it happens Why it is important How to avoid it FAQ How it all started How it affects product The Ostrich Effect and AI Example 1 Example 2 Summary Related TDL articles 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

Explore this link on the map →

related reading