# 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.

## 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.

## Related terms

- [Capability](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/capability.md)
- [Tool Use](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/tool-use.md)
- [Computer Use](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/computer-use.md)
- [Model Generation](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/model-generation.md)
- [Golden Set](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/golden-set.md)

## How is this different from Googling it?

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.

- Category: AI Product
- HTML: https://prompthausapp.com/learn/sycophancy
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prompthaus-ai-vocabulary/id6776314407