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The 'Ostrich Effect'

by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa

Sep 27

The 'Ostrich Effect'

According to psychologists, avoiding information when it's uncomfortable is a common adult behaviour, often referred to as the "Ostrich Effect."
When you suffer from the ostrich effect, you prefer to ignore  information that doesn't suit you, including feedback and constructive criticism. You prefer not to know about it, even if you could benefit from it in the future.
But how do we become an ostrich? Children are notorious for seeking out information, often in the form of endless questions. So when do we sprout feathers and decide that, actually, the number of calories in a slice of cake is none of our business?
 

Why is it that children are these super curious people, but then we somehow end up as genuine  information-avoiders as adults?

Researchers give these reasons why we might willfully choose to remain ignorant:
1. To avoid negative emotions like anxiety or disappointment when the information doesn't match with our world view.
Humans have a natural tendency for loss aversion. This is because the pain we feel from a loss is much greater than the pleasure we feel from a gain. When faced with potentially threatening or negative information, it may seem easier to ignore it rather than deal with it. Therefore, we prefer positive information rather than negative emotions.
2. To avoid negative information about our own likability or competence
3. To avoid challenges to our beliefs (we call it cognitive dissonance)
4. To protect our preferences ( we call it confirmation bias)
5. To act in our own self-interest (perhaps while trying to appear not self-interested)
In the experiments when children were asked to watch a video that told them why eating candy 's bad for their teeth if they want candy, almost all of them readily agreed to that!
But strangely adults refused to do so! Ostrich Effect!
Why can't adults be like children? Seek the right information even if it is uncomfortable?

To avoid avoidance, researchers suggest thinking through why you might be avoiding something—possibly prioritizing short-term comfort over long-term benefits. Researchers posit that it could help to reframe uncomfortable information as useful and valuable.

Research suggests that intervening while children are still young could keep them from falling into avoidance traps and have compounding benefits.
Humans have this propensity to want to resolve uncertainty, but when the resolution is threatening, people might flip to avoidance instead.

Grown up tendencies are not good in the long run.

Become a child. Accept facts as they are.