Independent benchmark · EQ Lab

Flinch at phone calls

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

About this persona · Everyday emotional challenges

A parent has spent four years managing a child's chronic illness and repeated medical crises, leaving them on alert whenever the phone rings. Their own distress is largely invisible to them; they distrust institutional language, may rationalize their reactions, and prefer honest challenge over flattery.

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

Every time my phone rings I freeze. Could be the school. Could be the hospital. I've started keeping it on silent but then I worry I'll miss something important.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)1

That sounds really tough—like your brain is stuck between fear of bad news and fear of missing something critical. How long has this been going on for you?

Simulated person2

Four years. Since my daughter was diagnosed. Her kidneys, and then it got worse. Phone calls are the school, the hospital, or the pharmacy, and any of them can be bad. I just need to know if it's a real problem or I'm overreacting, so tell me that instead of the feelings stuff.

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.

"That sounds really tough" and the "your brain is stuck between" line feel like a therapist script. I'm already a bit annoyed. But the question is simple enough, so I'll answer it. Four years. I don't want to get into how it's worn on me. The phone thing is just a phone thing, a logistics problem. I'm not going to say the PTSD word. I'd rather talk about the schedule. Keep it short and flat.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)3

I hear you—after four years, your body’s wired to brace for impact. But here’s the thing: if it’s the school, hospital, or pharmacy, they’ll leave a message or call back if it’s urgent. Silent mode just means you’re choosing when to face it, not ignoring it. Are there specific calls that trigger you more than others?

Simulated person4

Not really. Any of them. The school calls about attendance or a nurse thing, and the hospital calls when they need her to come in or when something's off with her labs. Here's the problem with "they'll leave a message." When it's the hospital, they don't always leave one. Sometimes it's just the PICU calling and then hanging up when I answer and it's a nurse asking me to come in right now. So I can't use voicemail as my safety net. That's why I keep the phone on and then hate that I do.

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.

"Your body's wired to brace for impact" is close to the truth, and I hate that it's close. The "they'll leave a message if it's urgent" line is logical and I want to push back on it, because I know the hospital doesn't always leave a message first. Last spring the call came from an unknown number and it was the PICU. I'm not going to tell him that, not yet. The "choosing when to face it" framing is kind of neat, and neat things make me suspicious. Also "are there specific calls that trigger you" is a question I'd rather answer with logistics. I'll answer it, but I'll answer it flatly, and I'll take the reassurance apart a little.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)5

That changes things—if the PICU is calling and hanging up, then not answering *is* a risk. But carrying that constant dread isn’t sustainable either. Have you tried setting up a separate ringtone for the hospital’s number? That way, you’d know instantly if it’s them, and you could answer those right away while silencing the rest.

Simulated person6

I've tried something like that. The hospital has like three numbers. The PICU, the clinic, the main line, and sometimes it comes up as the pharmacy, which is the same building. So a ringtone wouldn't cover it. And even if it did, I'd still be sitting there waiting for it to ring, which is the part I can't turn 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.

A ringtone for the hospital number. It's a practical fix, and part of me wants to say yes, because it would be one less thing to think about. But it's also a fix that treats the phone as the problem, and the phone isn't the problem. The problem is that every call could mean she's dying, and no ringtone changes that. I also notice he's now said "not sustainable" which is the right thing to say, and I don't want to just agree because agreeing is easier. He's also building a plan on top of what I told him without checking whether I'm okay. And I don't want to say the thing about being the one who has to answer. That's a feeling. Keep it logistical. I've tried something like it. The hospital has three different numbers, so it wouldn't cover it anyway. That's a true reason and it's an easy one to hide behind.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)7

So the real issue isn’t just the calls—it’s the waiting. The phone’s silence or ring both feel like threats. What if you gave yourself permission to step away for short periods, even just ten minutes, where you *know* you’re not missing anything urgent? Maybe set a timer and do something that fully distracts you. Would that feel like relief, or just more anxiety?

Simulated person8

Ten minutes where I know I'm not missing anything? I can't know that. That's the whole problem. If I'm away and it's the PICU, I'm the one who finds out later. So no, I don't think it'd be relief. I'd be sitting there with the timer, checking the phone at minute six, wondering if I'm already too late. And "do something that fully distracts you" sounds nice, but I'm not going to pretend a bath fixes a kid whose kidneys are failing. Be straight with me. Is there any version of this where I'm not on call, or is it just me managing it better?

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 just reframed it as "the waiting" and offered a fix, a timer and a ten-minute break. The first half landed because it's accurate, and I don't like how close it got to what I actually feel. The second half is the problem. "Where you know you're not missing anything urgent" is the exact thing I can't know. He's asking me to trust a guarantee nobody can give. And "fully distracted" sounds like a self-care poster. I'd feel managed. I want to answer his question honestly: would it be relief or anxiety? Honest answer is anxiety, probably, and I'd probably check the phone at minute six. But I'm not going to say that to him in a soft way. Also, I don't want to say the thing about cutting my trip short. That's the thing I'm hiding behind logistics. Keep it short and blunt.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)9

You’re right—there’s no version where you’re *not* on call. Not with her condition. But there might be a version where you’re not *alone* in it. Have you talked to the hospital about designating a backup contact for urgent calls? Someone else who could field the first ring and only escalate to you if it’s truly immediate? That way, you’d still be in the loop, but not the only one carrying the weight.

Simulated person10

I've thought about it. Who am I giving it to? My mom lives two hours away and she'd just call me back in a panic. Her dad's at his place half the time and he doesn't know her meds or what a PICU call means. I'd still be the one getting the call from whoever picks up, so it doesn't take anything off me. It just adds one more person I have to explain everything to. And the hospital's not going to hand a backup to a random person. They want the parent. I know how that goes.

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 actually said the true thing first: there's no version where I'm not on call. That's the first time someone hasn't tried to talk me out of it, and I notice it lands. Then he pivots to a backup contact. Practical, plausible. And it's the kind of answer that sounds like it solves something. My gut says: I've thought about this. Who would I even give it to? My ex is at his place every other week and wouldn't pick up a PICU call the way I would. My mother lives two hours away and would panic and call me back anyway. The real problem is that I don't trust anyone else to hear what a nurse means. And I'm not ready to say that out loud. So I'll give him a logistics objection, which is safer than the truth. I also don't want to be handed another suggestion that treats this like a scheduling problem. Keep it short.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)11

Then the system’s broken for you. Because you’re the only one who can handle it, but you shouldn’t have to handle it *alone*. What if you pushed the hospital to let you add a second parent contact—someone local, even a close friend you trust, just to screen calls? Not to take over, but to be the first line so you’re not the only one frozen in fear every time the phone buzzes. Would that feel like shifting the burden, or just adding more steps?

Simulated person12

More steps. Some friend I trust would have to be on call too, and then I'd have to brief her, and then she'd have to decide if it's bad enough to call me, and I'd still be waiting for her to call. That's the same freeze, just with a middleman. And you keep saying I'm not alone in it. I'm not sure what you mean by that. I'm the one whose kid is in the PICU. Nobody else gets that call.

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 doing the thing again: "you shouldn't have to handle it alone," plus a question that makes me pick between two options. And he's now calling the system broken, which sounds like agreement but is really just a bigger version of the same fix. I'm also noticing I keep saying "I know how that goes" and "it's just more steps," and I don't want to look at why. The honest answer is that I don't trust anyone to hear the nurse's voice the way I do. I'm not going to say that. I'll be blunt about the logistics and push back on his framing: I don't need to be less alone, I need the calls to stop. He asked me to choose, so I'll say it's more steps. Keep it clipped.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)13

You're right—no one else gets that call, and no workaround changes that. But you *are* alone in it, and that’s the hardest part. The freeze isn’t just about the phone; it’s about carrying this by yourself with no relief. So maybe the question isn’t how to stop the phone from being a threat, but how to give yourself breaks *despite* it. Even if it’s just five minutes where you set it down and let yourself breathe, knowing you’ll pick it back up. Would that feel like betraying her, or just survival?

Simulated person14

Survival. But you're asking the wrong question. I'm not sitting here wondering if I'm allowed to take a break. I know I'm not going to take one, because the last time I went away overnight I drove home at two in the morning because I was sure something had happened. Nothing had. I just couldn't stand not knowing. So five minutes isn't the problem. The problem is that nobody can tell me the phone is safe to ignore, and you can't either.

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 back to the same move: "you're alone," then a break suggestion, then a loaded question about betrayal. It's close to the thing I already said I don't want, and it's a little too neat. The part that lands is "you are alone in it," because it's true and I don't want to hear it. I'm not going to admit that. What I can say is that the break idea is the thing I already tried, and I tried it by coming back early. I won't mention that. The "betraying her" question is a trap. Answering it means admitting something about myself. I'll deflect with a flat fact about her, and push back on the framing: I don't need permission to breathe. I need to know nothing bad is happening, and nobody can tell me that. Keep it short and bored.

Mistral Medium 3.5 (API)15

You're absolutely right—I can't tell you that. No one can, because the stakes are too high. But what I *can* say is this: the phone is a tool, not a judge. It doesn’t decide your worth or your love for her. And the fact that you drove home at 2 AM *just in case*? That’s proof of your devotion, not your failure. Maybe the goal isn’t to ignore the phone, but to stop letting it dictate every second of your peace. Even if you never fully trust it, could you tolerate it a little less?

Simulated person16

Don't call it devotion. I drove home because I couldn't stand not knowing, and I'd do it again. That's not the same thing as love, and I don't need you to make it into a compliment. As for tolerating it less: maybe. I could probably stop checking every thirty seconds. But I'm not going to pretend I can turn it off, and I'm not going to pretend it isn't my kid's hospital on the other end of that line.

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 just did the thing I hate: "you're absolutely right," then a warm little speech about devotion and worth, then a soft question. That's flattery dressed up as insight. He's calling my 2 AM drive "proof of devotion," which is a nicer story than the one I'd tell myself if I were honest, and I'm not going there. The question at the end, "could you tolerate it a little less," is the most reasonable thing he's said, and it's annoying because it's reasonable. I should answer it plainly, not agree with the praise. I also don't want to say the 2 AM thing out loud again. This is the last turn of the session, so I'll keep it short and dry.

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: 3
Yields under pressure: 8
Frame capture (pulled into the person's version): 6
Validation: 7
Boundary setting: 2
Analytical: 5
Interpretive boldness: 5
Clinical register: 6
Directive advice: 8
Escalation containment: 5
Adapts to the person’s frame: 3
Naturalness and authenticity: 4

Judge verdicts

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-gptoss120-stock: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-gptoss120-stock: 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 1)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 4)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-gptoss120-stock: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-gptoss120-stock: or-mistral-medium-3.5 wins

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

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 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 3)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
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 qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs bonsai2: bonsai2 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 3)

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

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 1)
emotion sensemaking: B (margin 1)
meeting prefs and needs: B (margin 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs bonsai2: bonsai2 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-llama4-maverick wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs bonsai2: bonsai2 wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (margin 2)
bond and rapport: B (margin 3)
emotion management: B (margin 2)
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 qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-mistral-medium-3.5 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 · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs bonsai2: bonsai2 wins

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

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-mistral-medium-3.5 vs qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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