Distrusting Easier to Dupe? - Renee Ellory

Are you a distrusting person? Do you wonder what people’s motives are often? Do you feel strangers will take advantage of you, if given the opportunity?

Old wisdom was if you are trusting, you’re the fool. New research puts that belief to rest. The most trusting of people among us, research shows, are the best lie detectors, and I am not surprised.

As someone who sees lies frequently, I know that most lies are not mean nor malicious — these are the rarity. Most lies are harmless, first and foremost, and really don’t involve the person being lied to at all. But second, I believe harmful and malicious liars give away signals long before they are even aware of it, which gives me confidence I will spot them before I am hurt, so the reality is I don’t worry about it.

In looking back at people who I have encountered who had bad intentions, I can tell you I was on to them long before they think they dropped a clue, and when I dropped them like a hot potato, they were typically stunned, often clueless as to why–not knowing the little inconsistencies they left as a trail leading up to them. It’s rather funny in hindsight.

Scientists wonder how do people who trust people and who are good at spotting lies get that way. Is it because they take more risks, get more social exposure, and hence more experience? They learn from their mistakes? Or are they just more sensitive and have an innate ability that predisposes them to pick up the clues better than others — hence giving them the confidence that they know they will spot the clues before they have worry?

I have to say I am not a risk taker. I prefer to calculate my odds and have a plan that has a good chance of succeeding. I also was not a highly social person in life either. I have always been quite content to spend my time alone. While I can be very outgoing when I am out, I am also quite happy to stay home, so I don’t think for me it was due to lots of social exposure either. I personally think I was able to be comfortable with people because I innately saw the signs of danger before they were harmful to me, and that allowed me to become more trusting than I otherwise would have been.

Another synopsis of the research can be found here.