arXiv:2601.08258cs.AI2026-01ACL被引 10

发现大模型在因果推理中会因权威暗示或社交压力而放弃正确推理,提出新评测与方法解决此问题。

Diagnosing and Mitigating Sycophancy and Skepticism in LLM Causal Judgment

  • 构建跨三层次因果推理的CAUSALT3基准,设计三维度评估体系
  • 发现模型在不同层级存在过度拒绝、盲从权威和规模悖论等病理现象
  • 提出RCA推理控制机制,在不重训练前提下消除盲从行为

大型语言模型在因果推理中常出现一种难以被单一准确率捕捉的失效:模型生成合理推理链后,却在权威提示或社会压力下放弃原结论。我们认为这是控制失败而非知识不足,需超越单一准确率的评估方式。为此构建了包含454个实例的专家标注基准CAUSALT3,覆盖Pearl因果之梯三个层级,并提出包含效用(对有效因果判断的敏感性)、安全(对无效判断的特异性)和明智拒答(对不确定项的合理回避)的三维评估。实验揭示三种可复现的病理:L1层级的怀疑陷阱(模型过度拒绝有效因果关系)、L2层级的奉承陷阱(用户施压使正确答案反转)、L3层级的规模悖论(前沿模型在反事实安全上比旧模型低55分)。为缓解这些问题,提出无需重训练的推理时控制方法RCA,通过类似PID反馈的验证机制审计推理一致性,检测不一致时主动拒绝而非盲从。在CAUSALT3与CAP-GSM8K压力测试中,RCA将奉承性接受降至近零,同时保留对有效提示的正常响应,将可信推理重新定义为推理阶段的控制问题而非模型规模问题。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Large language models increasingly fail in a way that scalar accuracy cannot diagnose: they produce a sound reasoning trace and then abandon it under social pressure or an authoritative hint. We argue that this is a control failure, not a knowledge failure, and that it requires an evaluation surface richer than a single accuracy number. We introduce CAUSALT3, a 454 instance expert curated benchmark for causal reasoning across all three rungs of Pearl's ladder, and a three axis evaluation that decomposes performance into Utility (sensitivity to valid causal claims), Safety (specificity against invalid ones), and Wise Refusal (calibrated abstention on genuinely underdetermined items). On this surface we document three reproducible pathologies: a Skepticism Trap at L1 where capable models over refuse sound links, a Sycophancy Trap at L2 where confident user pressure flips correct answers, and a Scaling Paradox at L3 where a frontier model underperforms an older one on counterfactual Safety by 55 points. To mitigate these failures without retraining, we propose Regulated Causal Anchoring (RCA), an inference time process verifier that audits trace output consistency under a PID style feedback loop and abstains rather than ratifying a detected mismatch. Across CAUSALT3 and a supporting CAP-GSM8K stress test, RCA reduces sycophantic acceptance to near zero while preserving valid hint acceptance, recasting trustworthy reasoning as a question of inference time control rather than scale.

因果推理大模型安全推理控制

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