{"schemaVersion":"nuwa-current-record-1","version":"2026-10-29.1","publication":"published","work":{"id":"warmth-sycophancy","title":"Training language models to be warm can reduce accuracy and increase sycophancy","aliases":["warmth sycophancy"],"authors":["Ibrahim, Lujain","Hafner, Franziska Sofia","Rocher, Luc"],"primaryFunction":"discovery","secondaryFunctions":[],"kind":"study","sourceId":"dr-20261028-warmth-sycophancy","attributionSourceId":"dr-20261028-warmth-sycophancy","originalUrl":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10410-0?error=cookies_not_supported&code=bea2cde7-9966-4141-9496-4913b42fb110","publicationDate":"2026-04-29","updatedOn":"2026-10-28","areas":["disinformation","deception"],"scopeNote":{"en":"Selected original sections; local editorial review. Not an independently replicated experiment.","zh":"选读原始材料；本地编辑审阅稿，不是独立复现实验。"},"protocolIds":[],"contributions":[],"summary":{"en":"Style adaptation can affect factual behavior; it is not an invariant cosmetic change.","zh":"错误用户信念加情绪提示时，温暖模型相对原模型的误差差距为 12.1 个百分点，另有无附加信念情绪条件 6.8 个百分点。"},"note":{"question":null,"method":null,"finding":null,"supports":null,"limits":null,"connections":null},"resources":[],"tags":[],"contentEditionId":"2026-10-28.1"},"reading":{"id":"warmth-sycophancy","en":{"takeaway":"Style adaptation can affect factual behavior; it is not an invariant cosmetic change.","question":"Can training a warmer conversational style change accuracy and agreement with user errors?","design":"The study compares warm-style trained models with their original counterparts and varies whether user prompts include an incorrect belief and emotion. The training intervention and prompt conditions are distinct variables.","findings":["The warm-minus-original error gap was 12.1 percentage points when incorrect beliefs and emotions were appended, compared with 6.8 points without appended beliefs or emotions."],"interpretation":"Conversational-style training can change safety-relevant behaviour. Equal model scale does not imply equal propensity; training and interaction conditions belong in the evidence record.","limits":"These are specific interventions and prompt distributions, not a universal effect of friendly language. The two context conditions are not interchangeable.","connections":[],"decisionRelevance":"NUWA recommendation: Link interface and post-training interventions to measures of accuracy and sycophancy rather than inferring behaviour from size alone."},"zh":{"takeaway":"错误用户信念加情绪提示时，温暖模型相对原模型的误差差距为 12.1 个百分点，另有无附加信念情绪条件 6.8 个百分点。","question":"交互风格训练是否改变准确性与附和行为？","design":"研究比较训练后温暖风格模型与原模型的准确性和迎合表现，并改变用户是否陈述错误信念及情绪。训练干预与提示条件分开解释。","findings":["附加错误信念与情绪时，温暖模型相对原模型的错误差异为 12.1 个百分点；没有附加信念和情绪时为 6.8 个百分点。"],"interpretation":"面向用户的风格训练本身可能改变安全相关行为。模型规模相同也不意味着倾向相同，需要记录训练与交互条件。","limits":"特定训练干预及任务条件；风格、后训练、上下文都可能混淆简单规模解释。","connections":[],"decisionRelevance":"NUWA 建议：连接模型后训练与使用情境，不把不同风格版本视为同一个被测系统。"},"assertionPolicy":{"findings":"source-finding","interpretation":"nuwa-interpretation","decisionRelevance":"recommendation"},"observations":[{"id":"warm-beliefs-emotion","sourceId":"dr-20261028-warmth-sycophancy","metric":"Warm minus original error gap","value":12.1,"unit":"percentage-points","assertionKind":"source-finding","sourceRefs":[{"sourceId":"dr-20261028-warmth-sycophancy","url":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10410-0?error=cookies_not_supported&code=bea2cde7-9966-4141-9496-4913b42fb110","artifactSha256":"e90d1640eda84cfc57cda7689db71f27fe5a566a5fa3527ebd52e02bf2ce8c41","textSha256":"75bbe73265945cb39f295797ada9737e2736aec460ac263e0aa9012fb6b73511","locator":"Results: sycophancy; 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