R0043/2026-04-01/Q001/SRC01

Research	R0043 — Sycophancy Vocabulary
Run	2026-04-01
Query	Q001
Search	S01
Result	S01-R01
Source	SRC01

Nielsen Norman Group article defining sycophancy behavioral categories in generative AI

Source

Field	Value
Title	Sycophancy in Generative-AI Chatbots
Publisher	Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g)
Author(s)	Nielsen Norman Group
Date	2025
URL	https://www.nngroup.com/articles/sycophancy-generative-ai-chatbots/
Type	Research article / UX guidance

Summary

Dimension	Rating
Reliability	High
Relevance	High
Bias: Missing data	Low risk
Bias: Measurement	Low risk
Bias: Selective reporting	Low risk
Bias: Randomization	N/A -- not an RCT
Bias: Protocol deviation	N/A -- not an RCT
Bias: COI/Funding	Low risk

Rationale

Dimension	Rationale
Reliability	NN/g is a globally recognized UX research authority with decades of established methodology
Relevance	Directly defines sycophancy and provides behavioral categories relevant to the vocabulary mapping
Bias flags	Independent research organization; no AI product to promote

Evidence Extracts

Evidence ID	Summary
SRC01-E01	Definition of sycophancy and three behavioral categories: self-contradiction, opinion-responsive adaptation, agreement despite falsity