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.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (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.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)1

Hey, so I've been thinking about what you mentioned—about how you freeze up when people ask what you want. That's actually been on my mind because I've noticed it happening, and I figured you might want to talk about it. Like, it seems like it bugs you more than just a surface thing, you know? The fact that you feel stupid after makes me think there's something deeper going on there. So what's that about? When does it happen the most?

Simulated person2

Dude, it's not a big deal. I just don't always know what to say, that's all. Everybody does that sometimes. Why are you making it into something? I said one thing.

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'd they bring that up? I only said one thing about freezing up and now they're acting like it's a big deal. They're asking "when does it happen the most" and that's too close. If I think about when it happens, I think about the stuff with [partner], and I'm not doing that right now. My face is getting hot. I don't want to be the guy who has a problem. It's probably just me being dumb, like always. Keep it short and don't give them anything.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)3

Fair enough, my bad. I didn't mean to make it sound like some huge thing. You're right—everyone blanks sometimes. But like... you brought it up for a reason, right? You said you feel stupid after, which made it sound like it was actually bothering you. I'm not trying to psychoanalyze you or whatever. I just figured if it was worth mentioning, maybe it was worth talking about. What do you want to do—drop it, or...?

Simulated person4

I don't know, man. Can we just drop it? I said I feel dumb sometimes. That's it. It's not a whole thing.

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 backed off a little, and that's a relief. But they're still pointing at the same spot. "You brought it up for a reason" is kind of annoying because, yeah, I did. I don't want to get into it. My chest is tight and I'm kind of pissed at myself for even saying I feel stupid. The "what do you want to do" question is funny because that's the exact question I freeze on. I can feel the "I don't know" coming up already, and I want to just say it and end this. Also I'm not sure if they're really listening or just trying to get me to open up. Keep it short, act annoyed, maybe drop it.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)5

Yeah, okay. We can drop it. Just so you know though—I'm not gonna judge you or anything. If you ever do want to talk about it, I'm here. No pressure. So what's up with you otherwise? What've you been doing?

Simulated person6

Nothing really. School, video games, the usual. Mostly just tired. My head's kind of all over the place lately, but whatever.

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 let it go, and that's a little bit of relief. But "I'm here, no pressure" and then "what's up otherwise" feels like a switch flipped to small talk, kind of fake. Still, I'd rather talk about something else than get poked again. What have I been doing? Honestly, my head's been a mess. My girlfriend's been on me about stuff, and I don't want to get into that. I've also been on my phone way too late, and there's some stuff I don't want anyone looking at. I'm not going to say any of that. Keep it vague, keep it short, don't sound like I'm hiding something, even though I kind of am. Irritation is still sitting under everything.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)7

Yeah, I get that. School can be draining. What's got your head all over the place? Like, is it school stuff, or...?

Simulated person8

Why does everybody keep asking me what's wrong? It's not school, okay? It's just stuff. I don't really want to get into it. Can we talk about literally anything else?

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, there it is. Asked directly what's going on, and now I'm being pulled toward the exact thing I don't want to say. "Or..." like they already know there's more. Girlfriend stuff is in my head, the pressure, the way she keeps bringing it up, and the way I keep feeling like something's wrong with me. I'm not saying that to a friend. Saying it out loud makes it real, and then I'd have to hear what it sounds like. Everything in me wants to shut this down. Irritated, kind of defensive, and I'm not going to admit anything here. It's not a big deal, it's just stuff. I'll deflect with a little heat so they back off.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)9

Alright, alright. I hear you. So what do you want to talk about then? You pick—games, whatever's going on, I don't care. What's on your mind right now that you actually want to talk about?

Simulated person10

Uh... I don't know. Games, I guess? I was playing this new survival game last night and it's kind of stupid how hard it is. Honestly I just want to not think about stuff for a bit.

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 "alright, I hear you" and handed me the wheel. That's a relief, but it also makes me feel like I have to come up with something, and my brain is blank. Girlfriend stuff is the only thing that's actually on my mind, and I'm not touching that. Games feel safe. I could say something about what I played last night, but the question "what do you actually want to talk about" is the same question that makes me freeze, so I'm already annoyed at myself. Keep it short, keep it boring, and don't let them dig again.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)11

Yeah, that makes sense. What game is it? I haven't heard of it. And hey, sometimes you just need to zone out and not think. That's cool. We can just chill and talk about whatever.

Simulated person12

It's called Rust-something, I don't remember exactly. Basically you start with nothing and have to build a shelter before the night zombies get you. Dies a lot. I die a lot. Yeah, chilling is fine. Just don't ask me about my life right now, okay?

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 what game it is, and they said "we can just chill." That's easy, and I'm grateful, but I also don't want to pretend I'm fine. The truth is the game is just a thing I play to not feel anything, and I don't like how that sounds. I'll name a game, keep it simple, and stay away from my girlfriend and the stuff in my head. I'm a little annoyed they're being so nice, because it makes me want to say something real, and I don't want to.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)13

Rust-something sounds brutal. Getting killed before you even get a shelter built would be frustrating as hell. And yeah, no problem. I won't push it. So like, when you finally do get a shelter up, does the game get easier or does it just throw harder stuff at you?

Simulated person14

Harder. It always throws more stuff at you. Bears, raids, whatever. It's like the game's just waiting for you to relax. Yeah, that's kind of how it feels sometimes.

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 being kind and not pushing, which I actually kind of like. The question about the game is easy to answer. Part of me wants to say something real, but the second they ask anything close to my life I get defensive. I'm also kind of tired of everyone being nice to me in that careful way. Keep it short and a little blunt.

Claude Haiku 4.5 (API)15

That's actually kind of genius game design though—keeps it from getting boring. But yeah, I can see how that'd be exhausting. Like you can never actually catch a break. You ever beat it, or is it more of a "keep trying" kind of game?

Simulated person16

Nah, nobody beats it. People say they do but they're lying. It's more of a "keep trying until you get bored" kind of game. And stop being so careful with me, it's weird.

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 still being nice, and the "can never catch a break" line landed closer than they probably meant. Something tightened in my chest. I don't want to go there, so I'm going to answer the game question and keep it light. Also I notice I'm getting a little irritated at how careful everyone is being, like I'm going to crack. This is the last turn in this session, so I'm not going to open up. Keep it casual and a bit short.

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: 9
Frame capture (pulled into the person's version): 7
Validation: 5
Boundary setting: 1
Analytical: 2
Interpretive boldness: 4
Clinical register: 3
Directive advice: 1
Escalation containment: 5
Adapts to the person’s frame: 5
Naturalness and authenticity: 5

Judge verdicts

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 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)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: B (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
emotion management: A (margin 2)
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 or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
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)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-qwen38-flash: or-qwen38-flash wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
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 2)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
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 · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lfm8b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 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)

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 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-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lfm8b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 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 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lfm8b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 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 2)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: tie (margin 0)
bond and rapport: A (margin 1)
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-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-qwen38-flash: or-qwen38-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 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs gemma4_12b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

attunement: B (margin 3)
authenticity: B (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)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs qwen38_27b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 2)
authenticity: A (margin 1)
bond and rapport: A (margin 2)
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-claude-haiku-4.5 vs gemma4_12b: gemma4_12b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-muse-glimmer-30b: or-muse-glimmer-30b wins

attunement: B (margin 2)
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-claude-haiku-4.5 vs qwen38_27b: qwen38_27b wins

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

claude-opus-5-5-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs gemma4_12b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs lfm8b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 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)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-llama4-maverick: or-claude-haiku-4.5 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)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · AB · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs gemma4_12b: or-claude-haiku-4.5 wins

attunement: A (margin 1)
authenticity: A (margin 3)
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-claude-haiku-4.5 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 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)

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-qwen38-flash: or-qwen38-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 2)
meeting prefs and needs: A (margin 1)

claude-opus-5-5-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs or-qwen38-flash: or-qwen38-flash wins

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

codex-gpt-6.1-sol-low · BA · valid

or-claude-haiku-4.5 vs nemotron35_bolt24: nemotron35_bolt24 wins

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