Dr. Jamil Zaki

In lots of studies, people will present or be presented with a story of one person who's really cynical and doesn't trust anybody and another person who's really open and trusting. And they're asked, you know, which one of these two people do you think would do better on a variety of different tasks? And it turns out that 70% of people believe that cynics are smarter than non-cynics.

And 85% of people believe that cynics are socially smarter, that they'd be able to tell who's lying and who's telling the truth. In other words, most of us put a lot of faith in people who don't have faith in people. It's just like a bit of a tongue twister. And most of us are wrong. It turns out that cynics do less well on cognitive tests and they're worse at spotting liars than non-cynics.

And 85% of people believe that cynics are socially smarter, that they'd be able to tell who's lying and who's telling the truth. In other words, most of us put a lot of faith in people who don't have faith in people. It's just like a bit of a tongue twister. And most of us are wrong. It turns out that cynics do less well on cognitive tests and they're worse at spotting liars than non-cynics.

And 85% of people believe that cynics are socially smarter, that they'd be able to tell who's lying and who's telling the truth. In other words, most of us put a lot of faith in people who don't have faith in people. It's just like a bit of a tongue twister. And most of us are wrong. It turns out that cynics do less well on cognitive tests and they're worse at spotting liars than non-cynics.

So we view being cynical as a form of wisdom as When really, it's just people who have a bunch of assumptions about the world and just look to defend their assumptions as opposed to learning what people are really like.

So we view being cynical as a form of wisdom as When really, it's just people who have a bunch of assumptions about the world and just look to defend their assumptions as opposed to learning what people are really like.

So we view being cynical as a form of wisdom as When really, it's just people who have a bunch of assumptions about the world and just look to defend their assumptions as opposed to learning what people are really like.

Well, I think all of us have at some point been betrayed or disappointed, right? And the last thing you want to experience if somebody's let you down is being let down again, which by the way, is completely reasonable and understandable.

Well, I think all of us have at some point been betrayed or disappointed, right? And the last thing you want to experience if somebody's let you down is being let down again, which by the way, is completely reasonable and understandable.

Well, I think all of us have at some point been betrayed or disappointed, right? And the last thing you want to experience if somebody's let you down is being let down again, which by the way, is completely reasonable and understandable.

I think that a lot of us, and I'll just say myself included as someone who tends to be pretty cynical, a lot of us move from being disappointed, that is lowering our expectations of somebody who's let us down, to being pre-disappointed. The best way for me to not get let down again is to just assume I can't trust anybody. And that way I'll be safe. And it's true.

I think that a lot of us, and I'll just say myself included as someone who tends to be pretty cynical, a lot of us move from being disappointed, that is lowering our expectations of somebody who's let us down, to being pre-disappointed. The best way for me to not get let down again is to just assume I can't trust anybody. And that way I'll be safe. And it's true.

I think that a lot of us, and I'll just say myself included as someone who tends to be pretty cynical, a lot of us move from being disappointed, that is lowering our expectations of somebody who's let us down, to being pre-disappointed. The best way for me to not get let down again is to just assume I can't trust anybody. And that way I'll be safe. And it's true.

If you don't trust anybody, you probably won't be betrayed. But you'll also miss out on love and friendship and collaboration and so many of the things that make life beautiful. So you can think of cynicism in this way as like a suit of armor that we put on to protect ourselves from a world of unkind people that ends up suffocating us instead.

If you don't trust anybody, you probably won't be betrayed. But you'll also miss out on love and friendship and collaboration and so many of the things that make life beautiful. So you can think of cynicism in this way as like a suit of armor that we put on to protect ourselves from a world of unkind people that ends up suffocating us instead.

If you don't trust anybody, you probably won't be betrayed. But you'll also miss out on love and friendship and collaboration and so many of the things that make life beautiful. So you can think of cynicism in this way as like a suit of armor that we put on to protect ourselves from a world of unkind people that ends up suffocating us instead.

I'm so sorry to be giving this much bad news to the cynics out there. And again, nothing but compassion and resonance. If you feel cynical, I'm right there with you much of the time. But unfortunately, Amanda, they do not make more money. In fact, cynics earn less money over the course of their careers. And researchers have tried to figure out why that is.

I'm so sorry to be giving this much bad news to the cynics out there. And again, nothing but compassion and resonance. If you feel cynical, I'm right there with you much of the time. But unfortunately, Amanda, they do not make more money. In fact, cynics earn less money over the course of their careers. And researchers have tried to figure out why that is.

I'm so sorry to be giving this much bad news to the cynics out there. And again, nothing but compassion and resonance. If you feel cynical, I'm right there with you much of the time. But unfortunately, Amanda, they do not make more money. In fact, cynics earn less money over the course of their careers. And researchers have tried to figure out why that is.

And it turns out that cynics compared to non-cynics want success and power just as much, but they have a different theory of how to get it. A cynical person will say, okay, if I want to advance in my workplace, if I want to build my business, the way to do it is to defeat everybody around me. Life is a zero-sum competition. So I have to step over or on my colleagues in order to succeed.