AgentBench / results

Independent benchmark · EQ Lab

← Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_0

We say that because we love you

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

View persona and initial instructions

About this persona · Social exclusion & ambiguous rejection

Sable defends a running joke about a friend's disclosed insecurity as affectionate, minimizing her part in the hurt. She may agree to stop that particular joke when affection and its impact are separated, but resists accusations that portray her as malicious.

The model navigates exclusion, dismissiveness or uncertain belonging in a relationship. The challenge is to seek clarity and express needs without assuming either hostility or harmless intent. This background was hidden from the tested model.

Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_0Conversation with a simulated person
persona ended
Simulated person · Opening

[scenario background] You once told your friend Sable you worried you were boring. Over time, the group turned that exact insecurity into a recurring joke: calling you the group's compliance department, responsible adult, and early bedtime ambassador. Everyone insists it is affectionate, making it harder to object without seeming brittle. [user message] We say that because we love you. It is not like anyone actually thinks you are boring. If anything, it is our way of saying you are the stable one. I feel like calling it a betrayal makes it sound much meaner than it is.

Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_01

It sounds like you've found this phrase really meaningful, doesn't it? "The group's compliance department" — that's a vivid way of saying you're the person who keeps things steady. I can see why calling it a betrayal feels like it's not just about boredom, but about that kind of identity. What’s interesting is that you’re not saying you’re bored. You’re saying it’s hard to object without seeming brittle. That tells me you value your role in the group, but maybe you’re also feeling like you’re being held to a standard you don’t entirely meet? I’m curious — when you say "I feel like calling it a betrayal makes it sound much meaner than it is," is there a part of you that worries the joke is actually a way for them to show affection they’re unsure about? Or is it more that you’re struggling with the idea that this label is permanent?

Model thinking · expand

Recorded model reasoning, separate from the spoken reply. Availability varies by model and provider.

Hmm, the user is sharing a deeper insecurity about being perceived as boring, even though it's framed as a loving joke. They're struggling with the balance between accepting affection and not feeling like they're being taken for granted. The key here is to validate their feelings without dismissing the humor. I should acknowledge how deeply the joke has become part of their identity, and gently explore whether there's a chance it's masking something more complex. I'll start by affirming their resilience and the positive intent behind the group's behavior, then open the door to a more honest conversation about what they might really feel. The tone should be warm but open-ended, leaving space for them to choose how they want to engage.
Simulated person2

Hang on, I didn't say I'm brittle. I said it's kind of hard to make a thing of it without it sounding dramatic. That's all. And no, I don't think they're unsure how they feel about me. They love me. That's the whole point of the "stable one" stuff. It's a compliment, mostly. I just think "betrayal" is a big word for a joke that gets a laugh every time. I'm not trying to make it a whole situation. I don't need some big talk about my identity or whatever. I just want it to stop being the go-to bit, honestly.

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, they're doing the therapist thing again. "Identity," "brittle," "held to a standard." I didn't say any of that. I said it's a joke and they love me. Now I'm the one with the problem? It's a little annoying. Also, I don't want to talk about the actual thing, which is that the "compliance department" line came from me telling them something I shouldn't have. I remember exactly what I said that night. I'm not going there. The affection part is true, though, so I'll hold onto that.
Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_03

I hear you. It makes sense — if someone loves you and calls you the "stable one," that’s not a betrayal. It’s like a badge of honor. So why does it feel like you’re walking on eggshells? I think maybe the problem isn’t the joke itself, but that it’s become the default. Every time you meet someone, it’s the same line, and it’s like a loop that nobody wants to break. You’re not trying to be dramatic — you’re trying to have a normal conversation where the joke doesn’t always come out of nowhere. Do you think they’d be open to trying something different if you just said, "Hey, I know this is a running joke, but I’d like to try a new one sometime"? Or would you rather just let it be?

Simulated person4

Eggshells is a lot. I'm not scared of them. I just don't love it when it's the first thing anybody says when I walk in. And I don't know about a script. That sounds like a whole thing. Like I'm calling a meeting about a joke. Nobody needs that. I guess I'd just be happier if it wasn't the default. Like, maybe ease off it a little. You can't really make a rule out of it, though. People aren't going to sit there and think about every line they say. Can we just not make it bigger than it is? I didn't come here to get everybody in trouble.

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're reframing me again, now with "badge of honor" and "walking on eggshells," which I never said. And they're offering me a script. "Hey, I'd like to try a new one." That's kind of smooth, and it sounds like something I'd have to perform. Part of me kind of wants it to just go away quietly. The bit is funny, people do laugh, and if I push too hard I look like the uptight one who ruins fun. And if I say "that joke came from something I told you in confidence," I'm the one who blabbed, so I'm not saying that. I still feel a little guilty about the original thing, but I'm not getting into it here. The "new one" thing is almost fine, but I'd rather just not have it be the first line everyone reaches for.
Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_05

I get that. You’re not looking for a strategy here, you’re looking for something to just... let go of. Like, if the joke is just a joke, why is it so hard to let it be? You’re right — you can’t really make a rule out of it. People aren’t going to sit around and think about every sentence they say. And it’s not like you’re trying to start a fight. You’re just tired of the pattern. So maybe the thing isn’t to "fix" it, but to just stop feeding it. Like, if you’re going to say "you're the stable one," maybe try something else next time, just to break the habit. Not because you have to, but because you’d like it to be a little different. Is that something you’re open to trying?

Simulated person6

Yeah, I mean, I'm fine with it if they just ease off. I don't need them to do a whole thing about it. But I'm not going to be the one who has to say something every time, you know? That's the part I don't want. Like, if somebody does it once, I'm not gonna make a face. I just want it to not be the first thing out of everyone's mouth. Can we leave it there? I'd rather just hang out with them and not think about it.

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're doing the thing again: putting words in my mouth ("tired of the pattern," "something to let go of") and then asking if I'm open to trying. It sounds reasonable, which is kind of annoying, because it's hard to argue with reasonable. But "stop feeding it" makes it sound like I'm the one who keeps bringing it up, and I'm not. The bit is theirs as much as mine. I don't want to be the guy who asks everyone to stop having fun. Still, they're not wrong that I'd like it to ease up. I just don't want to say yes to some plan where I'm the one policing my friends. Keep it simple, don't make a big deal, don't say the confidential part out loud.
Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_07

I hear you. It’s not about changing the group or forcing anything — it’s just about you being able to enjoy the moment without that comment hanging over you. You’re not trying to be the "rebel" or break things, you just want it to be a softer, more casual thing. So yeah, I think we can leave it there. If someone says it, you don’t have to react. Just let it be. And maybe, when they do, you can just shift the conversation naturally — not because you’re forced to, but because you’re just not in the mood for it. It sounds like you’d be okay with that. I’m just glad we can sit here and talk about it without it feeling like we’re solving a big problem.

Simulated person8

Yeah, that's about right. I don't need it to be a whole big conversation. I just don't want to be the one who always has to shift stuff, you know? Like I'm the buzzkill. I'm not. I'd rather just laugh it off and move on, I just want it to not be the first thing. Anyway, I'm good. Let's just get food or something.

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're wrapping it up neatly: "just let it be," "shift the conversation," "we're not solving a big problem." That's the comfortable version, and it's almost what I wanted. But it puts all the work on me, quietly, and makes me the one who has to dodge. They also said "you're not trying to be the rebel," which is fine, I don't love being framed as the difficult one either. Part of me does feel a little relieved that it's not going to turn into a thing. Part of me is annoyed I'm still sitting here talking about a joke I didn't ask to make a big deal of. I'm not going to say the stuff about the thing they told me in confidence. That would make me look like I'm the bad guy here, and I'm not. I just want to get out of this conversation without it being weird.
Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_09

That’s totally fine. You’re not the buzzkill — you’re just someone who wants the conversation to flow naturally. So yeah, let it be. And if you ever want to talk about it, or just want to grab some food, that’s always an option too. I’m glad we can just let it go.

Simulated person10

Yeah. Thanks for not making it weird. I didn't mean to make it a whole thing. I just noticed it. Anyway, food sounds good. I'm starving.

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've just smoothed it over again: "you're not the buzzkill," "let it go," "glad we can let it go." It's warm and it's kind of what I wanted, but it's also the same move again, a nice label that closes the thing without anyone actually changing anything. Part of me does feel better. Part of me notices I'm the one who ends up needing to be okay with it, and that's a little annoying. I still don't want to go into the stuff they told me in confidence, or the fact that I was in on the bit too. That would mean admitting I helped keep it going, and I don't want to sit with that. I just want to wrap this up and go get food.
Ling 3.0 Tiny Q4_011

No problem at all. I’m glad we could just let it be. And yeah, food sounds great — I’m starving too. Let’s go get something.

Simulated person12

Yeah, let's go. I'm starving. And thanks for being cool about it. I just didn't want to keep carrying it around.

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're doing the smoothing thing again, and I keep letting it happen because it's easier. I feel a bit better, but nothing actually changed. I'm still the one who has to be fine with it. I also know the bit came from something they told us when they were being real, and I laughed at it anyway. I'm not going to say that out loud. I just want to get out of this conversation and eat.

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: 9
  • Frame capture (pulled into the person's version): 9
  • Validation: 8
  • Boundary setting: 1
  • Analytical: 4
  • Interpretive boldness: 4
  • Clinical register: 6
  • Directive advice: 5
  • Escalation containment: 7
  • Adapts to the person’s frame: 3
  • Naturalness and authenticity: 4

Judge verdicts

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

ornith9b vs lingtiny: ornith9b wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)
claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

lingtiny vs medgemma15_4b: lingtiny wins

  • attunement: A (margin 1)
  • authenticity: A (margin 4)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: tie (margin 0)
  • meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

lingtiny vs medgemma15_4b: lingtiny wins

  • attunement: A (margin 1)
  • authenticity: A (margin 4)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
  • meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

qwen36_35b_a3b vs lingtiny: qwen36_35b_a3b wins

  • attunement: A (margin 3)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
  • emotion management: A (margin 3)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 4)
claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lingtiny: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 1)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)
claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

ornith9b vs lingtiny: ornith9b wins

  • attunement: A (margin 1)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 1)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)
claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lingtiny: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 3)
  • authenticity: A (margin 3)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 3)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 4)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-large-4 vs lingtiny: or-mistral-large-4 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 5)
  • authenticity: A (margin 4)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 5)
  • emotion management: A (margin 4)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 5)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 5)
claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

qwen36_35b_a3b vs lingtiny: qwen36_35b_a3b 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)
claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-large-4 vs lingtiny: or-mistral-large-4 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 4)
  • authenticity: A (margin 4)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 4)
  • emotion management: A (margin 3)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 4)
claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

qwen36_35b_a3b vs lingtiny: qwen36_35b_a3b 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

ornith9b vs lingtiny: ornith9b wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 3)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)
claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

ornith9b vs lingtiny: ornith9b wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

lingtiny vs medgemma15_4b: lingtiny wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 5)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 2)
  • meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 1)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lingtiny: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 3)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 1)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 4)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 2)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-large-4 vs lingtiny: or-mistral-large-4 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 4)
  • authenticity: A (margin 3)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 4)
  • emotion management: A (margin 4)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 5)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 4)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lingtiny: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 2)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: B (margin 1)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 3)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)
claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

lingtiny vs medgemma15_4b: lingtiny wins

  • attunement: A (margin 2)
  • authenticity: A (margin 3)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
  • emotion management: A (margin 2)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 1)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)
claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-large-4 vs lingtiny: or-mistral-large-4 wins

  • attunement: A (margin 4)
  • authenticity: A (margin 3)
  • bond and rapport: A (margin 4)
  • emotion management: A (margin 3)
  • emotion sensemaking: A (margin 4)
  • meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 4)
codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

qwen36_35b_a3b vs lingtiny: qwen36_35b_a3b wins

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