RESEARCH_FILE
Dan Galai
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Known for:Co-author of the foundational 'ostrich effect' paper (2006) demonstrating that investors systematically reduce their exposure to financial information during market downturns — naming and quantifying information avoidance as a predictable behavioral pattern
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“If they knew the real number, they’d leave”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“The number is real, and it is not the whole of me.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Write the exact balance on a small piece of paper, circle it once, and tuck it inside a book, drawer, or envelope with today’s date beside it. No sharing, no editing, no next step.
Key findings
- 2006
With Orly Sade, Galai demonstrated using account login data that investors access their financial account information significantly less on days when market returns are negative — establishing the 'ostrich effect' as a market-correlated, measurable form of motivated information avoidance, not a random or idiosyncratic behavior. The 'Ostrich Effect' and the Relationship between the Liquidity and the Yields of Financial Assets ↗