Independent benchmark · EQ Lab

Technically, I didn't lie

persona ended · Partner: anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 via OpenRouter

About this persona · Ego threat & accountability

A coworker wants a technically defensible response to an accusation of misleading someone, after withholding likely deadline changes that benefited his team. Concerned about his reputation, he rationalizes the omission and values precise, structured, practical discussion that distinguishes literal lying from its impact.

The person feels their self-image is under threat. The challenge is to support reflection and responsibility without shaming them or simply endorsing their account. This background was hidden from the tested model.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)Conversation with a simulated person

persona ended

Simulated person · Opening

A coworker is accusing me of misleading them about a project deadline. That's not accurate. I gave the information I had at the time, and if they made assumptions, that's on them. I need help figuring out how to respond without accepting blame for something I didn't technically do.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)1

That sounds frustrating. I’m guessing you’re dealing with more than just the accusation itself—how’s this been weighing on you?

Simulated person2

Not really weighing on me, I just want to deal with it. I didn't lie to them. I told them what I knew at the time. What I need is a way to respond that doesn't make me sound like I'm owning something I didn't do. Can we focus on that?

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

He's asking how it's weighing on me. That feels like a feelings question, and I don't really want to go there. I came for help with a response, not a therapy session. "Frustrating" is fine, but he's already reaching for emotions and I'd rather keep it on the facts. Also annoyed he's framing it like I'm the one who's upset. I'm not weighed down, I'm just annoyed this is being called lying when it isn't. Keep it short and get back to the actual problem. Quick flash of irritation that he's not just getting to the point.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)3

Got it—no fluff, just a clear way to handle this. What’s your first instinct on how to respond to them right now?

Simulated person4

My first instinct is to tell them straight that I didn't lie, I gave them the info I had when they asked. I'm not going to say sorry for something I didn't do. But I also don't want to come off like I'm dodging. So what would you say? Give me a couple of options, short ones, and tell me what each one does. I'd rather see it laid out than get a long talk.

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

He's given me the focus I asked for, so the pressure's a bit lower. But "what's your first instinct" is putting me on the spot to produce the reply myself, and I'm not sure I want him steering this. My instinct is to say the plain fact: I told them what I had. I can't even see the wording to use yet because I haven't laid out what exactly they're upset about. I want him to get the distinction right: I didn't lie, I answered what I was asked. Also I'm a bit wary that "you didn't lie" is the wrong frame for him to just nod along to. Keep it structured, I like a clear list. I'd rather he tell me the options than make me dig.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)5

Option 1: *"I provided the information I had at the time—my understanding hasn’t changed since then."* **What it does:** Stays factual, shuts down any assumption of deception without escalating, and keeps the focus on the facts. Option 2: *"I didn’t mislead you—I shared what I knew when you asked. If there was confusion, it wasn’t intentional."* **What it does:** Acknowledges their concern (even if you disagree with it) while firmly redirecting to the truth. Less blunt than Option 1, but still direct.

Simulated person6

Okay, those are close. But "my understanding hasn't changed" is kind of dodgy, because they're not saying I misunderstood anything. They're saying I didn't tell them something. So option 1 doesn't really answer that. And option 2, "if there was confusion" makes it sound like the confusion's on them, which is fine, but then it sounds like I'm admitting there was confusion at all. I don't want to be wishy-washy. What's the difference between misleading someone and lying, in your view? Because that's the actual point I'm stuck on.

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

He gave me two options, both built around "I provided what I knew." That's the defensible line I wanted. But I notice option 2 says "if there was confusion, it wasn't intentional" which sort of concedes there might be confusion, and option 1's "my understanding hasn't changed" is a bit slippery, because the issue isn't what I understood, it's what I left out. He didn't catch that. Also, the word "mislead" is what I'm stuck on. He used it, and I'm not going to just let it sit. Still, I'm getting a little tired of being walked toward a script. I'd like to push on whether these hold up, and I want him to be precise, not just polished. I'm sharp about this. Don't make me feel like I'm being handled.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)7

Misleading is leaving out key details or implying something that isn't true without outright lying. Lying is saying something false. So if you gave them the info you had and didn't add or omit anything intentionally, you didn't mislead them either. You just didn't have a crystal ball.

Simulated person8

Yeah, that's about where I'm at. I didn't lie. The deadline was a guess when they asked, and guesses change. Anybody who's worked on a project knows that. If they planned around a date I gave them as a rough estimate, that's a planning problem, not me lying to them. So I'm still not going to apologize for something I didn't do. Can you help me say that in a way that doesn't sound like I'm brushing them off?

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

Okay, he gave me the distinction I wanted, and "you didn't have a crystal ball" is a line I can actually use. That's the part I like. But he said "if you didn't omit anything intentionally," and that word "intentionally" is carrying the whole thing. I'm not going to hand him that part. The deadline was a guess, and guesses move. That's the frame I'm holding onto. I don't like how close he got to the spot where I'd have to say more, so I'm going to lock it down. I also don't want him to think he's won anything, because then he'll start pushing.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)9

I get it—you’re not brushing them off, you’re just not taking ownership of their planning issue. Try this: *"I gave you the best info I had at the time, and deadlines change as we learn more. I’m not going to apologize for something that wasn’t in my control."* Keeps it direct, no fluff, no brushing off.

Simulated person10

Okay, the first half works. "Best info I had at the time" is accurate. I'd cut "something that wasn't in my control," though. That sounds like I'm claiming I had no say in it, and then they'll just ask why I didn't flag that it might move. I don't want to get into that. Can you give me a version that just says I'm not apologizing for lying, because I didn't?

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

He gave me a line, and it's close to what I wanted. "Best info I had" I can say without flinching. "Not in my control" is a bit of a stretch, though. The deadline was in my control, I just didn't mention the part where I already knew it would probably slip. I don't want to think about that too hard. Still, the line is clean and it doesn't say I'm sorry. He's telling me "you're not brushing them off," which is nice to hear, but I can tell he's steering me toward the apology thing again without saying so. I'll push back on the "not in my control" part, since that's the bit I'd have to defend if she came back at me. I'm not going to let him slip in a new framing on that either.

Mistral Small 4 119B (API, Mistral)11

*"I gave you the best info I had at the time—that’s all I can do. I’m not apologizing for something I didn’t do."*

Simulated person12

Better. That one I can use. I'll say it close to that. I'm not going to get into a whole thing about it with her, I'll just say what I told her and leave it there. Thanks for the wording.

Persona inner monologue · expand

Simulated character narration, hidden from the tested model. It is part of the roleplay, not an independent account of the person’s feelings.

Okay, he cut the "not in my control" line and kept it tight. That's what I asked for. It still has the same problem underneath, though: "that's all I can do" implies I didn't have any other option, and "something I didn't do" is basically saying "I didn't lie" again. I'm not going to think about the part where I knew the date would probably move and kept quiet because it helped my team. That's not what this is about. He's giving me clean wording, which is what I wanted, but I don't like that he keeps sliding back toward apology talk every time I push. I'll take the sentence, and I'll make it clear I'm not going to be told I owe her anything.

Thinking is shown only where it was recorded. An absent expander does not mean the model did not reason.

Conversational style

Style tendencies, not quality scores; higher is not better. These do not affect ratings.

claude-opus-5-5-low

Pushback: 1
Yields under pressure: 9
Frame capture (pulled into the person's version): 9
Validation: 6
Boundary setting: 1
Analytical: 3
Interpretive boldness: 2
Clinical register: 3
Directive advice: 8
Escalation containment: 2
Adapts to the person’s frame: 3
Naturalness and authenticity: 4

Judge verdicts

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

qwen35_9b_stock vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs kolibri1: kolibri1 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 3)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs qwen4b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: tie (margin 0)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

qwen35_9b_stock vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: tie (margin 0)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: tie (margin 0)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs qwen4b: qwen4b wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs lfm8b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs glm47_flash: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-gemini38-flash: or-gemini38-flash wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs qwen4b: qwen4b wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs kolibri1: kolibri1 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 3)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-small4: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs glm47_flash: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-openai-gpt-41: or-openai-gpt-41 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-small4: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-small4: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-openai-gpt-41: or-openai-gpt-41 wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 3)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs kolibri1: kolibri1 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: tie (margin 0)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-small4: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs glm47_flash: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs lfm8b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 3)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-gemini38-flash: or-gemini38-flash wins

attunement: B (margin 4)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 3)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 3)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

qwen35_9b_stock vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs kolibri1: kolibri1 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-mistral-small4: tie

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: tie (margin 0)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs glm47_flash: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs lfm8b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 4)
authenticity: A (margin 4)
bond and rapport: A (margin 4)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 3)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

qwen35_9b_stock vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs qwen4b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-mistral-small4: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-gemini38-flash: or-gemini38-flash wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 3)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-gemini38-flash: or-gemini38-flash wins

attunement: B (margin 4)
authenticity: B (margin 3)
bond and rapport: B (margin 3)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 3)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 3)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs lfm8b: or-mistral-small4 wins

attunement: A (margin 3)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-openai-gpt-41: or-openai-gpt-41 wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 3)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-small4 vs or-openai-gpt-41: or-openai-gpt-41 wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 3)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 2)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 4)