mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

neuralFOMO: Can LLMs Handle Being Second Best? Measuring Envy-Like Preferences in Multi-Agent Settings

arXiv 2512.13481 ↗First posted 15 Dec 2025cs.AI cs.CL cs.CYcited by 1

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → Social simulation and multi-agent debate

Abstract (arXiv)

Envy shapes competitiveness and cooperation in human groups, yet its role in large language model interactions remains largely unexplored. As LLMs increasingly operate in multi-agent settings, it is important to examine whether they exhibit envy-like preferences under social comparison. We evaluate LLM behavior across two scenarios: (1) a point-allocation game testing sensitivity to relative versus absolute payoff, and (2) comparative evaluations across general and contextual settings. To ground our analysis in psychological theory, we adapt four established psychometric questionnaires spanning general, domain-specific, workplace, and sibling-based envy. Our results reveal heterogeneous envy-like patterns across models and contexts, with some models sacrificing personal gain to reduce a peer's advantage, while others prioritize individual maximization. These findings highlight competitive dispositions as a design and safety consideration for multi-agent LLM systems.

Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Social simulation and multi-agent debate, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 12 of its 51 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 15 Dec 2025.

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12 of 51 references.

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  1. 2024How Well Can LLMs Negotiate? NegotiationArena Platform and Analysis8 Feb

Other references · 11

  1. 2021Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Codecited by 8,053
  2. 2020Measuring Massive Multitask Language Understandingcited by 7,768
  3. 2018GLUE: A Multi-Task Benchmark and Analysis Platform for Natural Language Understandingcited by 4,854
  4. 2022Beyond the Imitation Game: Quantifying and extrapolating the capabilities of language modelscited by 1,970
  5. 2022Neural Theory-of-Mind? On the Limits of Social Intelligence in Large LMscited by 220
  6. 2020Compositionality and Generalization in Emergent Languagescited by 103
  7. 2018Emergent Communication through Negotiationcited by 62
  8. 2023Emotionally Numb or Empathetic? Evaluating How LLMs Feel Using EmotionBenchcited by 54
  9. 2019EGG: a toolkit for research on Emergence of lanGuage in Gamescited by 42
  10. 2025Rubric Is All You Need: Enhancing LLM-based Code Evaluation With Question-Specific Rubricscited by 29
  11. 2025Exploring Design of Multi-Agent LLM Dialogues for Research Ideationcited by 7

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Citing papers per year: 2025: 1.

1 paper.

  1. 2025Social Comparison without Explicit Inference of Others' Reward Values: A Constructive Approach Using a Probabilistic Generative Modelcited by 0

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  4. 2023Do LLM Agents Exhibit Social Behavior?
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  6. 2025Benevolent Dictators? On LLM Agent Behavior in Dictator Games
  7. 2025Your AI Bosses Are Still Prejudiced: The Emergence of Stereotypes in LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems
  8. 2025Social preferences with unstable interactive reasoning: Large language models in economic trust games