While "being lied to" is known as a cause of "becoming more apprensive of potential lies", studies show that trusting people are often more capable of telling when others are lying. There are multiple probable reasons for this:
- People who are more trusting of others are typically those with good social skills. This makes them better at spotting and interpreting body language, getting a rough idea on other people's moods and current mental state (stressed, agitated, relaxed, bored, etc.) - and all of that helps in figuring out if someone is telling the truth or lying through his teeth.
- Conversely, a person gets mistrustful if they get burnt one time too many - if you can see lies and deceptions coming, people have a harder time betraying you, and therefore you will not turn into The Paranoiac.
- Since trust and trustworthiness are two-way streets, lying too many times might drive away those who value trustworthiness, and you might be surrounded by untrustworthy people.
Good Is Not Dumb is also closely related to Good Is Not Soft; they share the notion that what you see isn't always what you get. In this case, "being good and being mistrustful aren't mutually exclusive". Good people can be just as discerning and mistrustful as any hardened, gruffy character but they feel no obligation to wear their healthy sense of skepticism on their sleeve in plain view. At that point, all one has to do is keep their wits about them and observe. The good ones prove themselves worthy of your charity, while the bad ones often do otherwise on their own.
