The ostrich effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to avoid information that they perceive as potentially unpleasant.
This bias explains why people often avoid negative information, including feedback that could help improve.
Instead of dealing with reality, we bury our heads in the sand, like ostriches.
Coined in 2006, the Ostrich Effect was based on the metaphor of an ostrich burying their heads in the sand, describing the act of avoiding negative information, especially if it’s a threat to their egos. In behavioral economics, the term is used to describe consumers who become too overwhelmed by the buying process in an online store that they drop their cart completely.