Reading Too Much Into It? Interpretive Preferences and Commitment in LLM Mentalisation under Ambiguity
Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly used for interpersonal advice, potentially shaping how users interpret ambiguous social encounters. Existing Theory of Mind evaluations typically rely on predefined answers, while uncertainty research overlooks LLMs' preferred explanations and confidence under psychological distress. To address these gaps, we introduce MentalLoom, a novel evaluation of LLM mentalisation comprising 604 ambiguous social episodes, matched depression and social anxiety disclosures, and four-turn dialogues with unchanged event evidence. Across eight LLMs, disclosures initially elicited more negative explanations overall but more positive narrator-directed interpret...
| Authors | Stephanie Fong, Yiwen Jiang, Qingyang Xu et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CL |
| Published | 20 October 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 20 October 2026 |
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