Incels significantly overestimate how much society blames them for their problems and underestimate the level of sympathy from others, according to new research published in Personality & Individual Differences. Involuntary celibates, or “incels,” represent an online subculture of men who define themselves by their perceived inability to form sexual or romantic relationships. The community is characterized by self-loathing, depression, and often misogynistic attitudes. “Incels’ victimhood mindset is encapsulated by their ‘black-pill’ philosophy, a belief that there is nothing they can do to improve their romantic prospects,” write study authors William Costello and Andrew G. Thomas. Previous research has documented various cognitive distortions among incels, such as overestimating the importance of physical appearance in female mate preferences while underestimating traits like kindness and humor. However, no study has formally investigated how incels perceive society’s views of them compared to what society actually thinks. The researchers designed this study to address three key questions: what do people actually think about incels, how accurate are incels in perceiving these societal views, and how do incels’ self-perceptions differ from …