Why Trusting Others Pays Off
Though we’re wired for skepticism, we learn more from trust
In our daily lives, we constantly face the problem of figuring out who to trust and what to believe. In response, we’ve developed cognitive mechanisms that allow us to be open to most beneficial messages and vigilant against most harmful ones — a system of open vigilance. However, we increasingly face a dilemma our ancestors rarely encountered, and for which we might be ill-equipped: knowing whether to trust strangers, as we deal with new business partners, move to a different neighborhood, or attempt to form new friendships.
Knowing how we decide who to trust should help us become more confident in trusting others. And trust benefits all of us in the long run.
We routinely must determine whether people we have just met have our interests at heart. Given the lack of information about these strangers’ past behavior, we must rely on coarse cues about their personality, the groups they belong to, and their current situation. These cues range from the very general (does this individual appear trustworthy?) to the very specific (is this individual well disposed toward me in particular?).
As an example of a general cue, consider religiosity. In some cultures, religious people are seen as particularly trustworthy. As a result…
