The psychologist explained the reasons for the audience's distrust of demonstrative sincerity

Sincerity, which has become a marketing strategy, leads to a loss of trust in an audience that has learned to recognize patterns and inconsistencies. Irina Berman, a psychologist and personal brand expert, told Izvestia about this on March 1.

According to the expert, patterns like "honest conversation" and "I'm just like you" have now appeared, but the audience, which passes through hundreds of messages a day, has learned to recognize these patterns and unconsciously feel inconsistencies.

As Berman noted, cognitive markers of falsehood are not one sign, but a combination that causes internal discomfort. For example, when personal confessions coincide with a product launch, emotion is perceived as a sales tool, even if the story is real. A recurring vulnerability, when "honest revelations" are published on a schedule, is also perceived as a scenario. And if the words about simplicity and awareness don't match the context of a person's life, it causes cognitive conflict.

In conditions of information overload, where they sell not only goods, but also lifestyles, values and emotions, the audience develops a protective mechanism — increased suspicion.

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"Against this background, we have a protective mechanism — increased suspicion. Any message that contains emotional pressure, pathos, or excessive "warmth" automatically passes an internal check: "Why am I being told this?" And if the answer is "to sell something," trust decreases, even if the product is of high quality and the author is a professional," the expert noted.

According to Berman, today the crisis of trust is not about people, but about communication formats, because the audience is tired of the same techniques and scenarios. So, excessive demonstration of "perfect frankness" does not find a response, so the more a person tries to prove his sincerity, the less they believe him.

"The audience is more likely to believe a person who is stable in his positions, does not explain his every step, admits complexity and contradictions, does not turn personal into an engagement tool," said Berman.

As the psychologist emphasized, a real sense of authenticity is created not through confessions, but through the coincidence of words, actions and time. Sincerity turns into a show when it becomes an instrument of influence. Today, the audience is not looking for emotional intimacy, but for clarity, honesty of boundaries and respect for their attention, the expert concluded.

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