Study: People Are More Bothered by Beliefs They Think Are Wrong Than by Mere Differences
A study conducted by Andras Molnar and George Loewenstein, featured in The Conversation, reveals that the unease stemming from political and social conflicts is primarily due to viewing others as factually incorrect rather than merely holding different views. Their analysis, which included four studies with over 2,000 adults from the U.S., showed that negative feelings were more pronounced when participants encountered beliefs they deemed false. Participants reported heightened emotions in disputes over incorrect beliefs rather than mere opinion differences. Additionally, in hypothetical situations, perceiving someone as wrong increased discomfort and the desire to avoid that person. The research indicates that framing disagreements as battles over truth heightens emotional responses, making it harder to accept differing opinions. It also recognizes that differences still affect how relationships are viewed. An illustration by photographer Boris Zhitkov accompanies the study.
Key facts
- Study conducted by behavioral scientists Andras Molnar and George Loewenstein.
- Based on four studies with more than 2,000 U.S. adults.
- People are more disturbed by beliefs they think are incorrect than by beliefs they simply disagree with.
- In a recall study, participants felt more disturbed, frustrated, and upset when they viewed the other person's belief as factually wrong.
- In a social media study, confidence that a belief was incorrect predicted more disturbance and greater willingness to avoid, distrust, or block the person.
- Mere difference did not predict avoidance behavior.
- Framing the same information as 'incorrect' versus 'different' caused substantially more disturbance in a fictional story experiment.
- Possible explanations include consequences of false beliefs, threats to shared reality, and signals of bias or irrationality (naive realism).
Entities
Artists
- Boris Zhitkov
Institutions
- Getty Images
Locations
- United States