In this image, a person is in a desert with their head buried in the sand. The desert symbolises a reality that cannot be escaped. Hiding from it is only temporary; the sun still shines, and the truth remains.
Definition:
The ostrich effect occurs when the human mind deliberately avoids reality in order to escape unpleasant anxiety or fear. In this bias, the person, like an ostrich that buries its head in the sand, hides from uncomfortable information and pretends that the danger has disappeared.
Explanation and function:
An old legend says that whenever an ostrich is frightened, it buries its head in the sand to stay safe from danger. This image is a fitting metaphor for the human mind, which, when it does not want to see or know something, deliberately ignores it. The ostrich effect is the conscious choice to remain ignorant, the avoidance of knowledge to preserve momentary calm, even at the cost of greater mistakes and heavier consequences in the future.
Background (psychology):
Dan Galai and Orly Sade, professors at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, introduced this term for the first time in 2006. In their study of investor behaviour, they found that when the stock market is performing poorly, many people avoid looking at financial news to escape anxiety. Yet this avoidance not only fails to reduce anxiety, it also deprives the person of informed decision-making.
Mental mechanism and outcome:
At an unconscious level, the human mind assumes that “not seeing = not existing.” For this reason, when fear or a sense of helplessness appears, it tends to hide itself. Yet this hiding is a form of surrender, not calm. The ostrich effect seems to spare the person from confrontation, but in reality it wears them down from within and takes away their capacity for judgement and presence.
Real-life examples:
1. In the workplace:
A person who avoids expressing their opinion in meetings out of fear of conflict is caught in the ostrich effect.
2. In personal relationships:
Someone who remains silent instead of having an honest conversation to avoid tension is, in effect, burying their head in the sand and allowing the root of the misunderstanding to grow deeper.
3. In financial life:
A person who avoids looking at large bills or checking a low bank balance is effectively depriving themselves of the chance to repair the difficult situation they are in.
In all these examples, not seeing does not solve the problem; it only pushes it inward so that it becomes worse and returns later with greater force.
Here, it should be noted that…
The ostrich effect is often more visible among “good” and well-intentioned people, those who do not want anyone to be upset with them or any relationship to become strained. Yet this excess of politeness has a darker side, because polite inaction can sometimes cause more harm than firmness or criticism.
Why is this bias dangerous?
- Because it disconnects the mind from reality, turning the person into someone passive and anxious.
- With the ostrich effect, decisions are made on the basis of ignorance rather than knowledge.
- In human relationships, this bias leads to inefficiency. Prolonged silence replaces constructive dialogue, and by failing to see realities as they are, problems grow more complicated, and the situation deteriorates.
How can we recognise and correct it?
When making decisions, we should ask ourselves a few simple questions:
– Is there any information I have deliberately ignored?
– Why do I not want to know it?
– Am I afraid of knowing, or am I avoiding seeing the facts?
If your answer is “I do not feel like dealing with conflict,” the ostrich effect is most likely at work.
The way to correct it is to face reality, to see it even when it is painful.
Connection to Wise Education:
Wise Education, which the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls for and True Philosophy provides, trains us to see realities as they are, not as we wish them to be. A wise person does not flee from reality because they know that only by seeing and understanding it can they turn reality into truth. As long as a person runs from reality, they remain its captive, but when they consciously see and understand it, they gain the ability to change it. Wise Education is the practice of courage in seeing, seeing suffering, seeing fear, and seeing oneself, so that from the heart of an unacceptable reality a humane and liberating truth may arise.[1]
Conclusion:
The ostrich effect is the mind’s escape from facing reality in order to preserve its calm. But calm born of ignorance cannot last.
To free ourselves from this mental trap, we must ask:
“Does my silence come from seeking calm, or from fear?”
Only with this simple question does a person lift their head from the sand of ignorance and step towards awareness with open eyes.
[1] B. Azadfar, Volume One – Wisdom Our Hope, Ch. 6, pp. 140–141. See also, article ’The Odd Relationship of Reality with Truth,’ pp. 4–5.