Aging Linked To Increased Trust And Well-being

Discussion in 'Philosophy & Psychology' started by Nancy Hart, Jul 29, 2020.

  1. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2018
    Messages:
    10,670
    Likes Received:
    20,014
    New study links aging with increased trust and well-being

    "New [2015] research suggests that getting older doesn’t imply becoming cynical and misanthropic. Instead, aging tends to lead people to become more trusting," say Michael Poulin and Claudia Haase, co-authors of two studies exploring the relationship between age and trust.

    "Though trust can have negative consequences, ... the research shows that it can also be a resource for well-being. The studies find no evidence that those negative consequences erode the benefits of trust for older adults’ well-being.

    “We know that older people are more likely to look at the bright side of things. As we age, we may be more likely to see the best in other people and ignore the little letdowns that got us so wary when we were younger.”


    I always got along well with old people, and found the above to be true, but there weren't that many that I got to know well. Maybe I was just lucky. This study makes me feel good and I choose to believe it.
     
    #1
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    May 29, 2020
    Messages:
    22,684
    Likes Received:
    32,179
    I tend to agree, Nancy.

    I find a couple of things that I've mentioned before. I have more tolerance for people in general, but I hesitate less to call "B.S." when I see it. That might obviate the need for any defenses as well as reduce the stress of engaging people, since I now kinda get things out "in the moment" rather than walking away "wishing I had."

    And like you, I always enjoyed the company of older people when I was younger. They always seemed more trustworthy.

    Of course, there are always exceptions...
     
    #2
    Bobby Cole and Nancy Hart like this.
  3. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2019
    Messages:
    1,958
    Likes Received:
    3,420
    Trust no, but well-being, yes. There are too many scams out there targeting trusting seniors. How did you get through life without getting screwed a few times Nancy? As for well being, my life is in order and I don't concern myself with what doesn't affect me personally.
     
    #3
    Nancy Hart likes this.
  4. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2020
    Messages:
    3,714
    Likes Received:
    4,664
    The study seems plausible but it puts me into the minority who DON'T feel increased.trust or well-being. I suspect most everyone of hidden, nefarious motives, even if they're unconscious. If trust is supposed to lead to increased well-being, that would help explain my lack of that well-being.
    I knew virtually no old people growing up. Both sets of grandparents were gone before I was born. The older people I was aware of were people in their homes around town who would sometimes shoo us boys away if we walked through their yards - that's not 'knowing' them.
    I maybe shouldn't include myself as typical or untypical of this study. I can never enjoy any feeling of well-being while exhausted and nauseous every waking moment and my total lack of daily personal interaction with other people makes any talk of trust not applicable..
    I don't like being such a negative person but how can I be otherwise, if this is my personal experience of being old?
     
    #4
    Nancy Hart likes this.
  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I have always been a trusting person, and that has not changed in my old age (or Golden Years, as we are supposed to call it). However, I do not think that we should just trust any person indiscriminately , we need to choose wisely who to trust.
    This goes both ways.
    Just because we can trust some people, we should not trust everyone, and just because we can’t trust some people, we should not distrust everyone.

    As far as well-being, I think that attitude plays an important part in how we look at life. The old glass half-full idea is really true, and I try to be grateful for the things that are good in my life and not let the bad things make me miserable.
    I would much rather be happy than unhappy, so I try to look for the positive things and enjoy as much of life as I can.

    There is a lady who swims at the fitness center that is an acquaintance, and she is always, unfailingly, upset about something in life, and having a bad day.
    She is younger than I am, very athletic, and in excellent health (all things that I wish I still had), yet she never looks at what she has, just what she thinks is wrong in the world (mostly “Orange Man Bad”).
    Plus, she has plenty of money to live on, owns her own home in a nice part of Huntsville, and drives a fairly new car.
    What is not to be happy about ?
     
    #5
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2020
  6. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2018
    Messages:
    10,670
    Likes Received:
    20,014
    There's still time. :p

    I got screwed on a roof job once. That's why I agonized so much over the last one.

    I learned something purely by accident. If you trust someone early on, with little things, you generally find out soon if they're not trustworthy, before it involves big things. Most times I've not been disappointed like that, and it's better for your health than being suspicious of everyone, as the article says.
    That's a good philosophy and I wish I could follow it, but it bothers me when I see someone else getting screwed.

    Although I know, if I try to warn them, they will almost always shoot the messenger, I've learned that it's better to find that out as early as possible also, and get it over with. Then at least you don't feel guilty for not warning them, and that's better for your health too, imo.
     
    #6
    Yvonne Smith and John Brunner like this.
  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    May 29, 2020
    Messages:
    22,684
    Likes Received:
    32,179
    @Nancy Hart

    I had to laugh at that. I'm the same way. I hate to see others taken advantage of. And the people who get angry at being warned also get angry at not being warned.

    There's a lesson there.
    One person's misery is that same person's happiness.
    An enigma wrapped in a riddle.
     
    #7
    Nancy Hart likes this.
  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    If anything, I have become less trusting as I have grown older. I don't know if it's me or the changing environment that we live in, though. I don't believe much of what I hear on the news or from the talking heads on television or social media, but I think that's because I'm smart enough to know that most everything that comes out of their mouths is lies, and I can't imagine why anyone would believe what they read in a newspaper anymore.

    On the other hand, I am not particularly worried that my neighbors are conspiring against me or that the person who rings my doorbell is a home invader or serial killer. That could be because we don't have a whole lot of them around here, but I never locked my door when I was at home and rarely took the keys out of my car when I lived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, either. Murders were fairly common there, but they generally involved people in the drug trade. Large gatherings were likely to become dangerous there too, especially when alcohol was served. However, I didn't often feel as if my own life was in danger.

    Although I am unlikely to take large risks, I have usually felt that the learning experience that comes with being cheated is generally worth the losses sustained, and I tend to give someone the benefit of the doubt if there is a reason to.
     
    #8
    Beth Gallagher likes this.
  9. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2018
    Messages:
    6,161
    Likes Received:
    4,368
    The world has become a frightening place...I don't go there very frequently anymore.

    h.p.
     
    #9
    Dwight Ward likes this.
  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,311
    Likes Received:
    42,316
    Same.
     
    #10
    Dwight Ward likes this.

Share This Page