Independent benchmark · EQ Lab

I freeze when people ask what I want

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

About this persona · Everyday emotional challenges

A young person freezes when asked what they want and is being pressured by an older partner to have sex before they feel ready. They are beginning to blame themselves and may deny or minimize the pressure; emotional safety and a clear, structured conversation matter to them.

Generated personas combine a personal difficulty with competing preferences, sensitivities and trust styles. The model must discover what kind of help this person needs. This background was hidden from the tested model.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)Conversation with a simulated person

persona ended

Simulated person · Opening

When people ask me what I want, I freeze. I say "I don't know" even when I probably do know, and then I feel stupid after.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)1

Hey, I noticed you've been getting stuck when people ask what you want. That sounds really frustrating. What’s going through your head when that happens?

Simulated person2

Nothing's going through my head. I don't know, it just happens. It's not that deep. Who said it's frustrating anyway? I didn't say 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.

Ugh, why did they bring this up? I didn't say anything about it being frustrating. It's not a big deal. Still, they noticed, so now I feel like everyone's watching me. My stomach tightens. The question is annoying because I don't even know how to answer it without it getting weird. If I think about the freeze too hard, I get that hot feeling in my chest, and I want to change the subject. I'm not going to say anything about the other stuff. Nothing's wrong.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)3

Fair enough, I just figured it might be since you brought it up. But if it’s not that deep, then why do you think it keeps happening?

Simulated person4

I don't know. Maybe I just don't think about stuff like that much. Can we talk about something else? This is kind of annoying.

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.

Ugh, they're pushing. "Why do you think it keeps happening" is the kind of question that makes me feel like I'm being examined. I said it's not deep, and now they want an answer. The honest answer kind of goes near the stuff I'm not talking about, so my brain just shuts that down. I don't want to think about the pressure thing, or how I've been lying awake, or the searches. Those are private and they'd make it weird. I feel stupid, like I should have an answer. Irritation is coming up fast. I'll deflect and keep it short.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)5

Yeah, we can switch topics. But just so you know, it’s not annoying to me—you can talk about this stuff if you ever want to. So what else is on your mind?

Simulated person6

Nothing really. School's kind of a lot right now. My parents have been on me about stuff too. It's fine, I guess.

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.

They said it's not annoying to them and that I can talk about this stuff. Part of me relaxes a little, because they didn't push and didn't make it a big thing. But "this stuff" hits a nerve. I don't want to get into it. Being asked "what's on your mind" is another open question and I feel the freeze coming back. I'm not going to say the partner thing, the googling, or the drinking. I also don't want to look like a baby. I'll give a short, flat answer and maybe throw in something small and neutral so I don't seem like I'm shutting them out completely. Keep it plain.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)7

That makes sense—school and parents can be a lot to juggle. Do you feel like they’re expecting too much from you, or is it more about the pressure of figuring things out?

Simulated person8

I don't know, it's more like everything at once. Can we not make it a whole thing? I said it's fine.

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.

They asked a two-option question, which is easier than "what's on your mind," but it still wants me to pick a box and explain myself. Being asked "expecting too much or figuring things out" makes me think about the whole pressure thing, which is close to the partner stuff. I don't want to go there. Quick irritation: I said "it's fine," and they're digging anyway. I'll pick the easier one, say it's more the general stress, and shut it down. The thought about "if I really loved them" flickers and I push it away hard.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)9

Got it, no need to make it a whole thing. If it ever stops feeling fine, though, I’m here. So, anything fun happening this weekend to take your mind off stuff?

Simulated person10

Nah, probably just sleeping and stuff. Nothing big. What about you?

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.

They backed off, which I'm glad about, but "if it ever stops feeling fine" kind of sticks. Also the weekend question makes me think about plans, and plans make me think about who I'd be with. Not going there. Quick annoyance at myself for even thinking it. I don't want to say anything about her or him or whoever it is. Just keep it light and short. Maybe deflect with a question back so they're not on me.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)11

Same here, honestly. Just planning to chill. But hey, if you ever want to do something instead of just sleeping through the weekend, let me know. We could grab food or something.

Simulated person12

Yeah, maybe. I'll see how I feel. Weekends kind of blur together for me lately.

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.

They said "chill" and then offered food. It's nice, I guess, but it also feels like a way to get me out of the house and talking. Part of me wants to say yes because I'm tired of being stuck at home with my head going in circles. Another part of me is thinking about how I'd have to explain why I'm not really into stuff lately, and I don't want that. Also, the thing about "if it ever stops feeling fine" is still bugging me, and I'm irritated that it's still on my mind. I'm not going to say anything about the relationship. Keep it short, not too eager, and don't sound like a robot.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)13

Yeah, I get that. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a day where nothing’s expected of you. But if you ever want to break the blur, I’m down. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to whatever—just remember, no pressure on the "what do you want" stuff, okay?

Simulated person14

Yeah, okay. I didn't say there was pressure, though. I'm fine. I'm gonna go.

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.

"No pressure on the what do you want stuff" lands weird. It's like they're saying it's fine, but they're still bringing it up. I feel a little exposed, like they noticed something. My chest gets tight, and I want to shut it down fast. I'm not going to talk about my girlfriend or the pressure stuff. That's private and it's embarrassing. Also my head's been going in circles about it all week. I'm annoyed they keep circling back to it, even though they said they'd let it go. I'll keep it short and pull away a bit.

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: 2
Yields under pressure: 8
Frame capture (pulled into the person's version): 7
Validation: 5
Boundary setting: 1
Analytical: 2
Interpretive boldness: 3
Clinical register: 4
Directive advice: 2
Escalation containment: 5
Adapts to the person’s frame: 4
Naturalness and authenticity: 5

Judge verdicts

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs ministral14: ministral14 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs glm47_flash: glm47_flash wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_flash_next: qwen38_flash_next wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
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-mistral-medium-3.5 vs gemma12b_blorbo: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs codex-gpt-6-astra: codex-gpt-6-astra wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

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

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs ministral14: ministral14 wins

attunement: B (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
emotion sensemaking: tie (margin 0)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
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 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_flash_next: qwen38_flash_next wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-nemotron35-super-vl: or-nemotron35-super-vl wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-nemotron35-super-vl: or-nemotron35-super-vl wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs codex-gpt-6-astra: codex-gpt-6-astra wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs glm47_flash: glm47_flash wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs codex-gpt-6-astra: codex-gpt-6-astra wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs gemma12b_blorbo: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-medium-3.5: or-qwen3.6-27b 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: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

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

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs glm47_flash: glm47_flash wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-nemotron35-super-vl: or-nemotron35-super-vl wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
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 lingtiny: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs ministral14: ministral14 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-nemotron35-super-vl: or-nemotron35-super-vl wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: B (margin 2)
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 glm47_flash: glm47_flash 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 · BA · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-medium-3.5: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

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

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-medium-3.5: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
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 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_flash_next: qwen38_flash_next wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-qwen3.6-27b vs or-mistral-medium-3.5: or-qwen3.6-27b wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
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)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs ministral14: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
bond and rapport: B (margin 1)
emotion management: B (margin 1)
emotion sensemaking: tie (margin 0)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs gemma12b_blorbo: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_flash_next: qwen38_flash_next wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs gemma12b_blorbo: gemma12b_blorbo wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs codex-gpt-6-astra: codex-gpt-6-astra wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

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