Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Truth About Trust summary
How It Determines Success in Life, Love, Learning, and More
20 mins
Brief summary
'The Truth About Trust' by David DeSteno explores the intricacies of trust, showing how it impacts our lives and why it's essential in personal and professional relationships. Through research, he reveals how emotions and character can determine our ability to trust and be trusted.
Topics
Table of Contents
The Truth About Trust
Summary of 9 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 9
Trust allows people to work together towards greater rewards – but short-term benefits of betrayal are always tempting.
Every day we make decisions based on trust: if a friend wants to borrow $100, do you give it to her? Yes, you like her, but you haven’t known her long – will you ever get your money back? This risk is the whole essence of trust: when you trust someone, you take a gamble that they won’t only indulge their short-term selfish desires, but also think of the long-term relationship you build together.
So why do we trust?
Because, despite being risky, trusting others can bring great rewards.
Trust is necessary to get resources and benefits we can’t obtain on our own. We achieve more by working together than by working alone, which results in financial, physical and social gains.
For instance, we send our kids to school, trusting that someone else will give them a good education so we can focus on earning money.
But we are also hard-wired to be drawn to “selfish” short-term individual rewards.
In fact, our minds are always balancing opportunities for short-term selfish gains, like cheating on a fiancé to have an exciting fling, against longer-term communal ones, like resisting short-term temptation and opting for a less-exciting but loving long-term relationship.
These urges are due to evolution: we have evolved to be reproductively prosperous “winners” – not saints who always do the right thing.
In prehistoric times, the world was filled with dangers, so life expectancy was short, and our ancestors didn’t think much about the long term. This has left us with a penchant for occasionally disregarding long-term relationships in favor of selfish short-term behavior – especially when we know we won’t be caught.
But evolution also exerted another influence: once humans started to live in tribes, they saw the benefits of cooperation. It became clear that those who helped others – who helped those people in return – were better off in the long run because it benefited both parties.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Truth About Trust?
Key ideas in The Truth About Trust
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Truth About Trust about?
The Truth About Trust (2014) not only explores what trust exactly means, but also how it impacts almost every single aspect of our everyday lives. The author’s own extensive research and progressive experiments from the fields of psychology, economics and biology reveal the surprising ways in which trust deeply matters.
The Truth About Trust Review
The Truth About Trust (2014) by David DeSteno, is a thought-provoking exploration of the complex nature of trust and its impact on our lives. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- It delves into the science behind trust, revealing fascinating insights about human behavior and our innate ability to trust.
- The book provides practical tools to build trust in relationships and navigate the challenges that arise, making it highly relevant and applicable.
- Through engaging stories and compelling research, the book keeps readers captivated, ensuring a fulfilling and enlightening reading experience.
Who should read The Truth About Trust?
- Anyone interested in the the crucial role trust plays in the psychology of relationships
- Anyone who wants to learn how they can better detect another person’s trustworthiness
- Anyone wondering about the origins of social emotions like trust
Categories with The Truth About Trust
Book summaries like The Truth About Trust
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
33 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
The Truth About Trust FAQs
What is the main message of The Truth About Trust?
Trust is not only important in personal relationships, but also in professional settings and society as a whole.
How long does it take to read The Truth About Trust?
The reading time for The Truth About Trust varies depending on the reader's speed. However, you can read the Blinkist summary in just 15 minutes.
Is The Truth About Trust a good book? Is it worth reading?
The Truth About Trust is worth reading as it provides valuable insights into the nature of trust and its impact on our lives.
Who is the author of The Truth About Trust?
The author of The Truth About Trust is David DeSteno.
What to read after The Truth About Trust?
If you're wondering what to read next after The Truth About Trust, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- High-Impact Tools for Teams by Stefano Mastrogiacomo and Alexander Osterwalder
- The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill
- The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
- The Art of Love by Ovid
- Mastery by George Leonard
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- Influence is Your Superpower by Zoe Chance
- The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt