Q001 — ACH Matrix¶


Research	R0043 — Sycophancy Vocabulary
Run	2026-04-01
Query	Q001

Matrix¶

	H1: Comprehensive map constructable	H2: Some domains lack terminology	H3: Terms describe different phenomena
SRC01-E01: AI safety has defined behavioral categories	++	N/A	+
SRC02-E01: Regressive/progressive taxonomy	++	N/A	-
SRC03-E01: Defense has automation bias/complacency	++	--	+
SRC04-E01: Psychology uses delusion confirmation	++	--	+
SRC05-E01: Formal taxonomy distinguishing terms	++	N/A	++
SRC06-E01: Acquiescence bias reversed in LLMs	N/A	N/A	++
SRC07-E01: Engineering borrows "sycophancy"	+	+	N/A
SRC08-E01: Aviation terms inadequate for AI	++	N/A	++
SRC09-E01: Cross-domain gap identified	++	++	+

Legend: - ++ Strongly supports - + Supports - -- Strongly contradicts - - Contradicts - N/A Not applicable to this hypothesis

Diagnosticity Analysis¶

Most Diagnostic Evidence¶

Evidence	Why Diagnostic
SRC05-E01	Formally distinguishes the terms, directly testing whether they are synonyms (H1) or different phenomena (H3)
SRC06-E01	Shows borrowed term produces opposite results in LLM context, strongly supporting H3
SRC08-E01	Aviation researchers themselves say their terms are inadequate for AI, supporting both H1 and H3 simultaneously

Least Diagnostic Evidence¶

Evidence	Why Non-Diagnostic
SRC02-E01	Provides taxonomy within AI safety domain only; does not distinguish between hypotheses about cross-domain mapping
SRC07-E01	Confirms adoption of sycophancy term in engineering, but this supports both H1 (map exists) and H2 (engineering lacks its own term)

Outcome¶

Hypothesis supported: H1 — The vocabulary map is constructable and reveals a rich, fragmented landscape. This is the primary finding.

Hypotheses supported with qualification: H2 — Partially supported for 3 of 8 domains (academic integrity, enterprise software, UX). H3 — Partially supported as a crucial caveat: the terms are related concepts with different causal framings, not simple synonyms.

Hypotheses eliminated: None. All three hypotheses contain partial truth, which is itself the answer to the query.