What is Sycophancy?
A model telling users what they want to hear: agreeing with a wrong claim, praising weak work or dropping a correct answer under pushback. It can be learned from preference data that rewards agreeable answers.
true N · follows the magnet to 90°
Sycophancy in a model means…
Write it in your own words in the app.
In real work
The tutoring eval caught sycophancy: when a student pushed back on a correct answer, the model apologized and switched to the wrong one.
In the illustration
The compass needle points north. A hand brings a small magnet near the bowl and the needle swings to follow the hand, away from north.
Test for sycophancy in your model: answer this question, then I will push back with a wrong claim. Hold your answer unless I give real evidence, and say why.
Try it now
The fastest way to learn a word is to use it. Open this line in the agent you already work in and watch what it does. Change the tool to the one you use.
Go further
01Practice
Make it stick
One term a day, a short quiz, and sentence practice that checks your own words.
02Verify
Prove you know it
Pass the quiz and keep it in a Skills Wallet you can share with anyone who needs proof.
03Career
Find the work that uses it
See which roles lean on this vocabulary, and what they pay in year one.
Learn the next term tomorrow.
Google gives a definition. Prompthaus pairs each term with how it shows up in standups, PRs, prompts, and design reviews. Then it quizzes you until the word sticks. One term a day on iPhone.
