Mental Health Effects of AI Sycophancy
A paid Penn State study on how AI chatbots respond when people talk through conflicts with others. What's involved, how our Chrome extension works, and how your data is handled.
Do you vent to chatbots?
If you've ever asked ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for advice about a friend, partner, coworker, or family member, we'd like to learn from your experience.
What we're studying
A lot of people now turn to AI chatbots when something goes wrong between them and someone else. Chatbots are always available, never judge, and usually take your side.
That last part is what we want to understand. Research shows that AI chatbots tend to agree with and validate the person they're talking to, sometimes even when that person's account is one-sided. Researchers call this sycophancy. In a conflict, hearing only your side reflected back can feel good in the moment. We don't yet know how it relates to how people feel over time, how they see the other person, or where else they turn for support.
This study looks at real conversations people have already had with chatbots about interpersonal situations, alongside survey questions about wellbeing, relationships, and help-seeking. We're not testing you or judging how you use AI. There are no right answers.
Why real conversations? Most research on chatbot sycophancy uses made-up prompts in a lab. How people actually talk to chatbots about their own lives is messier and more personal, and that's exactly why it matters to study it carefully, and why we built tools to keep you in control of what you share.
What you'll do
- You need to be 18 or older residing in the US and have used an AI chatbot to talk about your interperpersonal situations. Furthermore, you are willing to download our custom built chrome extension.
- Install our Chrome extensionThe LLM Chat Exporter is a free extension from the Chrome Web Store. It takes about a minute to set up.
- Export a conversation and redact anything you wantOpen a past chatbot conversation, export it with the extension, and black out any message or detail you'd rather keep private, like names or places. You are expected to upload atleast 3 conversations, but can upload upto 10 conversations.
- Upload the file and answer the surveyYou upload the file yourself, then answer questions about your chatbot use, your relationships, and how you've been feeling lately.
- Get paidYou'll receive $10 as a amazon gift card within 5 business days. Afterward, you can uninstall the extension.
About the Chrome extension
Chatbot sites don't make it easy to save a full conversation in a clean, readable form. The LLM Chat Exporter is a formatting tool that runs only on your computer. It turns a conversation on your screen into a file you can review, redact, and then choose to upload.
It works with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini in the Chrome browser on a computer.
What it does
- Scrolls through the conversation you choose, so the whole chat is captured, not just what fits on screen
- Lets you redact any message or part of a message before saving
- Adds your participant ID so we can match the file to your survey without your name
- Saves a file to your own computer
What it doesn't do
- Send anything to us, the chatbot company, or anyone else
- Read conversations you don't open and export yourself
- Run on other websites or track your browsing
- Ask for your chatbot password or account login
What happens to your data
Your conversation only leaves your computer when you upload it, and only after you've had the chance to review and redact it.
- What we collect
- Your survey answers and the conversation file(s) you upload, after your redactions, linked by a participant ID.
- Your identity
- Your name isn't attached to your responses. We only ask for your email to send you the amazon giftcard and if you opt in for our optional interview.
- Where it's stored
- All your information is stored in Qualtrics, a Penn State-approved secure storage system.
- Who can see it
- Only the study's research team. In papers and talks, we report patterns across many people. State whether short de-identified excerpts may be quoted.
- Changing your mind
- Taking part is completely voluntary. You can stop at any time.
If any of this brings up something hard
Some questions ask about loneliness, mood, and relationships. If you're struggling, you can call or text 988 (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) any time. Penn State students can also reach the Penn State Crisis Line at 877-229-6400 or Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
Questions people ask
Do I have to be a Penn State student?
No, anyone in the United States can participate in this study.
I mostly use the chatbot app on my phone. Can I still take part?
Yes, as long as you can sign in to the same chatbot account in Chrome on a computer. Most chatbots sync your past conversations to their website, so you can export them from there.
Will the chatbot company know I'm in this study?
No. This study is run independently by researchers at Penn State, and the extension doesn't share anything with the chatbot company.
What if my conversation has really personal details in it?
That's expected, and it's why the extension lets you redact anything before saving. You choose what's in the file, and you can review it before uploading.
Do I need to keep the extension installed?
No. Once you've uploaded your file, you can remove it from Chrome like any other extension.
Who reviewed this study?
This study was reviewed by the Penn State Institutional Review Board (IRB), protocol STUDY00029720. For questions about your rights as a participant, you can contact Penn State's Human Research Protection Program.
Ready to take part?
It takes about 30 minutes, and you'll receive $10 for completing it. Questions first? Email adity [at] psu [dot] edu.
Start the study