Beliefs with no practical stakes function as pure social identity signals

Evidence

For example, an enormous body of evidence supports the idea that the biological species in our world today evolved via natural selection. This is the cornerstone of modern biology, and yet whether or not we accept evolution—irrespective of the evidence available—has essentially no practical consequences for most of us. On the other hand, espousing one view or the other can have significant social benefits, depending on whom we wish to conform with. — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age, 308

Categorization

• XREF: Pays off the chapter’s thesis that belief accuracy drops when stakes are low, and offers a mechanism for why evolution denial persists despite overwhelming evidence. — connects to: Conformity prevails when false beliefs carry no personal costs to the believer — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age: How False…, 306; False beliefs mostly persist through social transmission, not individual failings — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age: How False…, 30; Beliefs gain validity from social endorsement and shared beliefs create social connection — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2367 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Belief system coherence is socially, not logically, driven #corroborates (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1857
• Consensual beliefs gain perceived validity and social connection from being shared #expands (0.85)
• Beliefs gain validity from social endorsement and shared beliefs create social connection #expands (0.75) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2367
• Identity games rest on disbelief while identity transformations end in belief #complicates (0.75) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1206