Why would we have differing mechanisms for this? Isn't it easier for the brain to cover both under a simple "avoid socially dysfunctional people" directive?
The important practical distinction is that under the second scenario, the person in question would be perfectly functional until some specific issue came up where his views differ from the respectable consensus. Such a person could stay completely out of trouble by figuring out on what occasions it's advisable to keep his mouth shut. In contrast, the first scenario would imply a personality that's dysfunctional across the board due to his broken handling of status and social norms, with no easy fix.
Moreover, it seems to me that broken handling of status and social norms would imply dysfunction in any society. Having problems with authority and being unable to find and maintain friends and allies is a recipe for disaster in any conceivable social order. It is true that some societies might have niche roles for some types of such individuals, but that's an exception that proves the rule.
This is thread where I'm trying to figure out a few things about signalling on LessWrong and need some information, so please immediately after reading about the two individuals please answer the poll. The two individuals:
A. Sees that an interpretation of reality shared by others is not correct, but tries to pretend otherwise for personal gain and/or safety.
B. Fails to see that an interpretation of reality is shared by others is flawed. He is therefore perfectly honest in sharing the interpretation of reality with others. The reward regime for outward behaviour is the same as with A.
To add a trivial inconvenience that matches the inconvenience of answering the poll before reading on, comments on what I think the two individuals signal,what the trade off is and what I speculate the results might be here versus the general population, is behind this link.