Ostrich effect
Etymology
Named for the myth that ostriches bury their heads in sand to escape danger (they don’t). The term was applied to finance by Dan Galai and Orly Sade in 2006, who found investors monitored their accounts far less often when markets were falling than when they were rising.
noun · /OS-trich ih-FEKT/
The tendency to avoid information you expect to be unpleasant, as if not knowing keeps it from being true.
What it names
Why people stop opening bills or checking their portfolio in a downturn — attention feels like exposure, so they look away.
Example
Deep in the ostrich effect, she let three months of unopened medical statements pile up on the counter.
Related idea
Normalcy bias underplays a threat you’re looking straight at; the ostrich effect refuses to look at all.