Amy Rose: I know, but I'm finding it hard to factor in the TRUST into this equation.
Snively: Would it help if I said I was only doing this to get revenge against A.D.A.M. and didn't give a rat's behind about the rest of you?
Amy Rose: ... yeah! THAT you could sell me!
Suppose Alice, whether reasonably or unreasonably, distrusts Bob, who in turn realizes that convincing Alice to trust him as a person would be an uphill battle if even possible.
Bob decides instead to give some explanation that he thinks Alice is more likely to believe, about why he would act "as if" he were trustworthy, or at least in a way that wouldn't betray Alice, for whatever scenario such convincing might be needed for.
Despite what one would expect from the concept, these explanations, though they may tend towards selfish motives, are not limited to them. The issue for a lack of trust could be Bob's loyalty to Charlie, for example. Over all, the point is that the explanation would have to be something Bob has reason to expect Alice to be more likely to believe.
Contrast Arbitrary Skepticism and Confession Deferred. Also, Contrast Sarcastic Confession when they directly tell the truth, knowing the other will not believe them.
Truth in Television, especially in some economics-related debates.
Examples:
Comic Books
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) issue #152: Snively wants Amy Rose's help to set up an EMP to stop the nano-robots who would otherwise dominate life on the planet. Amy doesn't trust him but accepts his explanation that he's doing it for Revenge and doesn't care about her at all.
Films — Live-Action
- The Force Awakens: Poe the Resistance member asks the newly-defected Stormtrooper Finn why he's rescuing him from the First Order base.
- The Princess Bride: Inigo tries to convince Miracle Max to revive Westley for cheap. He first tries telling him a sob story about how Westley's wife is crippled and his children on the brink of starvation. Miracle Max, of course, spots the lie immediately, which forces Inigo to be sincere—he needs Westley's help to avenge his father. Subverted because that doesn't work either.
Literature
- In Predatory Wicked Moon by Lukin, a brigand volunteered to join the forces hunting another brigand because that guy stole his mistress. An official who knew the mistress refuses, knowing that she has the personality of a desert viper and no one would risk their neck for her. The brigand is accepted when he confesses that he actually wants to avoid the threat of vengeance for ditching her.
Live-Action TV
- The Big Bang Theory: Leonard and Raj think they see Nathan Fillion eating lunch while they're picking up a meal they've ordered and ask him for an autograph. He politely declines, explaining that he's just a lookalike. Leonard apologizes for bothering him on the way out, so he admits that he is Nathan Fillion but he just wanted privacy. Since they were respectful, he offers them a picture... but now Raj thinks he isn't Nathan Fillion after all. When convincing Raj doesn't work, he (annoyedly) offers a picture with a Nathan Fillion lookalike, which Raj happily accepts.
- Get Smart: A Running Gag has Agent 86 make some grandiose claim, then repeatedly walking it back with a "Would you believe..." when people call his bluff. He's never believed.
- In the iCarly "iPromise Not to Tell", Carly finds herself wracked with guilt after Sam admits to her that she found a way to change their school grades as a favor. Eventually, she decides to confess to the principal while trying to take the fall for Sam by claiming she changed her own grades... which the principal doesn't buy, because not only is she a model student, Freddy had already "confessed" to doing the exact same thing minutes before. Then Sam herself comes in and sets the record straight, and given her history of troublemaking...
Sam: Okay, it was me, all right? I hacked the computer and I changed the grades.
Principal Franklin: Now that I believe.
Music
- The song "Li'l Red Riding Hood" by Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs.
I'm gonna keep my sheep suit on, until I'm sure that you've been shown.
That I can be trusted walkin' with you alone. Owooooo!
Little Red Riding Hood, I'd like to hold you if I could.
But you might think I'm a big bad wolf so I won't. Owooooo!
Webcomics
- Vexxarr: Vexxarr is suspicious
of why he'd be given free rein to roam Earth and doesn't buy the mutual benefit/respect for alien life reasons. He does accept that the humans just don't care because they consider him harmless.
Web Video
- The CollegeHumor fake trailer for a Minesweeper movie has a tense scene where the instructor tries to get a recruit to admit his real motives for sweeping mines.
Drill Sergeant: Why are you really here?
Soldier: I want to make this land safe.
Drill Sergeant: Why are you here, soldier?
Soldier: I'm here because I'm bored!
Western Animation
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: After Zuko's (legitimate) Heel–Face Turn, he offers to join the Gaang and teach Aang fire-bending, but they're obviously hesitant to believe his reformation is genuine. So he switches tactics and offers himself up as their prisoner, hoping to invoke this. They aren't interested in that either and send him away.
