If author had put in an internal check for "do I really believe what I'm about to say" and came back with a "yup" every time before speaking, I'd have no problems at all.

However, as I see it, the pleasant lie baked into the original case is essentially "regardless of what I might genuinely think about what you just said, I'm going to give a response to make you feel good about yourself thereby making me more likeable."

*rephrasing