The “cranky old man”  is a universally recognized and understood image. For many of us, it’s Clint Eastwood’s “get off my lawn” showdown with the neighborhood punks in "Gran Torino." He’s snarly, irritated, uncompromising and perhaps not a reflection of reality.

But a new report indicates we actually get more trusting as we age. Researchers from Northwestern University used 26 years of data from the World Values Survey to look at the association between age and trust. The revelation: 23 percent of 20-year-olds agreed that "most people can be trusted," BUT 35 percent of 80-year-olds agreed with the same statement.

A look at another survey revealed that not only did adults get more trusting with age, the change correlated with a higher level of well being.

Pay attention, Eastwood, here comes the reason some researchers think it happens. The elderly they say are motivated to give back to others, so they look for good in people. They also develop a more tightly knit, loving group of friends as they age.

What would Clint say to that? I’m going with “Get OFF my lawn”!

Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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