The misery of misbelief: People are more disturbed by others' false beliefs than by differences in beliefs

Abstract Belief homophily—the tendency to associate with others who hold similar beliefs and the distaste for different beliefs—is often seen as a major cause for belief‐based social segregation and polarization. We question, however, whether social scientists have been correct in identifying belief‐homophily as the primary force driving these pernicious social effects. We argue that when people face others who hold beliefs different from their own, they find these encounters disturbing, primarily when they are convinced that others' beliefs are false . In four pre‐registered online studies ( N = 2027 U.S. adults) featuring self‐recalled experiences and vignette scenarios, we find that participants express stronger negative feelings when others hold false beliefs, compared to when others' beliefs are merely different from their own. We also document that higher confidence that others hold false beliefs evokes more negative emotions, triggers stronger avoidance behaviors, and reduces people's desire to form any kind of relationship with others. These findings highlight the possibility that many of the effects that have been previously attributed to belief homophily may be better explained by the desire to avoid others holding false beliefs.