Dr. Jamil Zaki

goes a long way in constructing and shaping the life that you live, the decisions that you make. So cynics, maybe it's not so much about who they pretend to be, but it's about who they pretend everybody else is. If you decide that other people are selfish, for instance, you'll be far less likely to trust them.

And there's a lot of evidence that cynics, when they're put in situations with new people, even when they interact with their friends, romantic partners, and families, that they still have their guard up, that they're not able to make trusting and deep connections with other people. But guess what? When you treat other people in that way, a couple of things happen.

And there's a lot of evidence that cynics, when they're put in situations with new people, even when they interact with their friends, romantic partners, and families, that they still have their guard up, that they're not able to make trusting and deep connections with other people. But guess what? When you treat other people in that way, a couple of things happen.

And there's a lot of evidence that cynics, when they're put in situations with new people, even when they interact with their friends, romantic partners, and families, that they still have their guard up, that they're not able to make trusting and deep connections with other people. But guess what? When you treat other people in that way, a couple of things happen.

One, you're not able to receive what most of us need from social connections. There's one really classic and very sad study where people were forced to give an extemporaneous speech about a subject they don't know much about, a very stressful experience that raised people's blood pressure.

One, you're not able to receive what most of us need from social connections. There's one really classic and very sad study where people were forced to give an extemporaneous speech about a subject they don't know much about, a very stressful experience that raised people's blood pressure.

One, you're not able to receive what most of us need from social connections. There's one really classic and very sad study where people were forced to give an extemporaneous speech about a subject they don't know much about, a very stressful experience that raised people's blood pressure.

Some of these folks had a cheerleader, not an actual cheerleader, but a friendly stranger who was with them while they prepared, saying, you've got this. I know you can do it. I'm in your corner. Other people had no support. As you know, one of the great things about social support is that it buffers us from stress.

Some of these folks had a cheerleader, not an actual cheerleader, but a friendly stranger who was with them while they prepared, saying, you've got this. I know you can do it. I'm in your corner. Other people had no support. As you know, one of the great things about social support is that it buffers us from stress.

Some of these folks had a cheerleader, not an actual cheerleader, but a friendly stranger who was with them while they prepared, saying, you've got this. I know you can do it. I'm in your corner. Other people had no support. As you know, one of the great things about social support is that it buffers us from stress.

So most people, when they had this friendly person by their side, their blood pressure as they prepared for the speech went up only half as much as when they were alone. But cynical people had a spike in their blood pressure that was indistinguishable in magnitude whether or not a person was by their side or not. One way that I think about this is,

So most people, when they had this friendly person by their side, their blood pressure as they prepared for the speech went up only half as much as when they were alone. But cynical people had a spike in their blood pressure that was indistinguishable in magnitude whether or not a person was by their side or not. One way that I think about this is,

So most people, when they had this friendly person by their side, their blood pressure as they prepared for the speech went up only half as much as when they were alone. But cynical people had a spike in their blood pressure that was indistinguishable in magnitude whether or not a person was by their side or not. One way that I think about this is,

Social connection is a deep and necessary form of psychological nourishment. And living a cynical life, making the decision that most people can't be trusted, stops you from being able to metabolize those calories, leaves you malnourished in a social way. A second thing that happens when you choose to pretend that others are selfish, greedy and dishonest is that you bring out the worst in them.

Social connection is a deep and necessary form of psychological nourishment. And living a cynical life, making the decision that most people can't be trusted, stops you from being able to metabolize those calories, leaves you malnourished in a social way. A second thing that happens when you choose to pretend that others are selfish, greedy and dishonest is that you bring out the worst in them.

Social connection is a deep and necessary form of psychological nourishment. And living a cynical life, making the decision that most people can't be trusted, stops you from being able to metabolize those calories, leaves you malnourished in a social way. A second thing that happens when you choose to pretend that others are selfish, greedy and dishonest is that you bring out the worst in them.

There's a lot of research that finds that cynical people tend to do things like monitoring others, spying on them or threatening them to make sure that that other person doesn't betray them. But of course, other people can tell how we're treating them, and they reciprocate our kindness and retaliate against our unkindness.

There's a lot of research that finds that cynical people tend to do things like monitoring others, spying on them or threatening them to make sure that that other person doesn't betray them. But of course, other people can tell how we're treating them, and they reciprocate our kindness and retaliate against our unkindness.

There's a lot of research that finds that cynical people tend to do things like monitoring others, spying on them or threatening them to make sure that that other person doesn't betray them. But of course, other people can tell how we're treating them, and they reciprocate our kindness and retaliate against our unkindness.

So cynical people end up bringing out the most selfish qualities of others, telling a story full of villains, and then ending up stuck living in that story.