Personality Modeling in Language Models

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12 papers in the last four weeks, up 71% on the four weeks before. 0.1% of all new papers.

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The Persona Hierarchy Model: Understanding Contextual Generalization in Fine-Tuning LLMs
Oct 7, 2026Jiachen Zhao, Zhengxuan Wu, David Bau +1LLM Fine-Tuning LLM Alignment
Northeastern University · Stanford University
Socio-Foundation: A Model for Generalizable Individual Behavior Simulation via Hierarchical Capability Distillation
Oct 6, 2026Liang Wang, Wenxuan Xie, Xinyi Mou +2Human Behavior Simulation Large Language Model-Based Social Simulation
School of Data Science, Fudan University · Shanghai Innovation Institute · Tencent
The Persona Is Still There, but Who Is Speaking? Latent Identity Reversion in Persistent AI Agents
Oct 1, 2026David Fraile NavarroPersona Consistency Personality Modeling in Language Models
Centre for Health Informatics, Australian Institute of Health Innovation Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
MetaPersona: Task-Grounded Synthetic Populations from Empirical Social Science
Sep 29, 2026Jinyi Ye, Yuangang Li, Chenxiao Yu +7Personality Modeling in Language Models Synthetic Data Generation
University of Southern California · University of California, Irvine · 2077AI +1
Persona Dosing: Calibrated Activation Steering for Graded Trait Control
Sep 28, 2026Zehao Jin, Junran Wang, Ruixuan Deng +4Language Model Steering Personality Modeling in Language Models
Georgia Institute of Technology · Zhejiang University · University of British Columbia
PersonaManifold: Revealing and Exploiting Curved Geometry in LLM Persona Representations
Sep 28, 2026Rui Xu, Yinghui Xu, Libo WuPersonality Modeling in Language Models Persona-Conditioned Generation
Fudan University · Shanghai Innovation Institute
PersMem: Internalizing Personality into Dual-Pathway Memory for LLM Agents
Sep 28, 2026Hanzhong Zhang, Ziwei Xiang, Weicheng Xie +2Agent Memory Large Language Model-Based Role-Play Simulation
Department of Computer Science, University of Exeter, United Kingdom · School of Marxism, Nanjing University, China · Shenzhen University, China +1
PERSONAWEAVER: Controllable Diversity Beyond Conventional Archetypes in Procedural Character Generation
Sep 22, 2026Maan Qraitem, Kate Saenko, Bryan A. PlummerPersonality Modeling in Language Models Procedural Content Generation
Boston University
Mind2Dialogue: Training Human-Aware Language Models by Simulating User Mental States
Sep 14, 2026Zixuan Wang, Yufan Zhou, Jinzhou Tang +16LLM Personalization Theory of Mind
UC San Diego · KU Leuven · Johns Hopkins University +2
Toward Robust Personalized Alignment for LLMs: Mitigating Persona Drift in Multi-Turn Dialogue
Sep 14, 2026Youyuan Zhang, Siyuan Li, Fangming Liu +1Belief Revision LLM Alignment
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China · Peng Cheng Laboratory, China · Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Implicit Personality Representations in Humans and LLMs
Sep 14, 2026Yilin Geng, Omri Abend, Eduard Hovy +1Personality Modeling in Language Models Representation Geometry in Language Models
University of Melbourne · Hebrew University of Jerusalem · University of Tübingen
Story Imprinting: AI Assistants Absorb Traits from Human Characters They Resemble
Sep 12, 2026Jorio Cocola, Lev McKinney, Harry Mayne +2Fine-Tuning Personality Modeling in Language Models
Truthful AI · Harvard University · METR +1
K/V-Cache Interventions Dissociate Representation Alignment from Persona Expression in Decoder-Only Language Models
Sep 11, 2026Yu Sun, Mengyin Lu, Cong Feng +2KV Caching Decoder-Only Language Models
LinkedIn
Creating an Atomic User Model for Personality-Aware Large Language Model Interaction
Sep 10, 2026B. Sankar, Deepthika S, Pawni Yadav +1LLM Personalization Personality Modeling in Language Models
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, 560012, Karnataka, India · Department of Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, 560012, Karnataka, India
mimeo: Compiling Public Expert Corpora into Agent Skills and Testing What Transfers
Aug 31, 2026Timothy KassisTool-Augmented Language Model Agents Personality Modeling in Language Models
K-Dense, Inc.
Emotional Labor Strategy Preferences in LLM Personas
Aug 31, 2026Mohammad Saim, Tianyu JiangPersonality Modeling in Language Models Persona-Conditioned Generation
University of Cincinnati
The Assistant's Ideal Self
Aug 31, 2026Mert YazanPersonality Modeling in Language Models Language Model Self-Assessment
Leiden University · Research conducted at the Digital Minds Research Sprint, August 2026.
R $^2$ A: Learning Persona Policies Through Persona Representation Learning and Runtime Alignment
Aug 30, 2026Mohan Zhang, Chengsong You, Xiaoyu Cao +4Representation Learning Personality Modeling in Language Models
College of AI, Tsinghua University · 2Independent Researcher
When Personality Meets Quantization: A Layer-wise MBTI Analysis of Quantized LLMs
Aug 26, 2026Yao Fu, Lijia Huang, Xiaomin Li +3LLM Quantization LLM Interpretability
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH 44106, USA · Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115, USA · Microsoft Research Redmond, WA 98052, USA
Which LLM Is Your Ideal Companion? Evaluating Emotional Companion Capabilities of LLMs Based on Adult Attachment Theory
Aug 13, 2026Junkai Zhou, Shiting Guan, Zhaoyi ZhangLLM Evaluation Personality Modeling in Language Models
Your LLM, Your Style: Behavioral Mode Axes for LLM Behavioral Control
Aug 11, 2026Haoze Liu, Run Liu, Haiying Xu +6Personality Modeling in Language Models Activation Steering
Shanghai Jiao Tong University · Shanghai AI Laboratory · The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology +1
Persuasive and Compliant Tendencies Predict Group Decision-Making in Humans and Language Models
Aug 8, 2026Wenwen He, Wenke Huang, Wei Yang Bryan Lim +1Multi-Agent LLM Systems Personality Modeling in Language Models
College of Computing and Data Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
"Many Are My Names": The Anatomy of the Assistant and Its Personas via Sparse Autoencoders
Aug 8, 2026Adelaide Danilov, Aria Nourbakhsh, Oleksandr Marchenko Breneur +1Large Language Model-Based Role-Play Simulation Personality Modeling in Language Models
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg
PHASE-Tree: Modeling Character-State Evolution in Long-Horizon Role-Playing Dialogue
Aug 7, 2026Bo Tang, Jianan Yang, Junyi Zhu +7Personality Modeling in Language Models Multi-Turn Dialogue Evaluation
MemTensor (Shanghai) Technology · KU Leuven, Belgium · Zhejiang University +3
Do AI Personas Grow? Analyzing and Benchmarking Personality Evolution in LLM Agents After Life Events
Aug 6, 2026Ming Wang, Peidong Wang, Xiaocui Yang +4Personality Modeling in Language Models LLM Agent Evaluation
School of Computer Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China · School of Computing and Information Systems, Singapore Management University, Singapore
FOCUS: Decoupling Expert Personas in LLMs to Enhance Domain Expert Capabilities
Aug 6, 2026Guanyu Wang, Zidi Zhang, Xu ChuLanguage Model Steering Personality Modeling in Language Models
Peking University, Beijing, China · The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
PALMs: Using Multi Construct-Grounded Rationales for Modeling Population Preferences in LLMs
Aug 2, 2026Priyanka Dey, Brihi Joshi, Preyashi Poddar +2LLM Alignment Human Preference Modeling
University of Southern California · Information Sciences Institute
Setoka: A Benchmark for Hierarchical User Understanding in Personalized Agents over Heterogeneous Data
Jul 29, 2026Lingyang Zeng, Guangze Chen, Kaichen Yu +9Personality Modeling in Language Models Memory Agent Benchmarks
East China Normal University · The Chinese University of Hong Kong
From Representations to Behaviors: Exploring the Person-Situation-Behavior Triad in LLMs
Jul 29, 2026Ruikang Zhang, Shuo Wang, Qi SuLLM Interpretability Personality Modeling in Language Models
1Peking University, Beijing, China · 2Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
A Persona-based Rate Action Index
Jul 29, 2026Hayden Helm, Andrew DassoriPersonality Modeling in Language Models Time Series Forecasting
Helivan · Wavelength Capital
Misalignment Has a Personality: A Big Five Account of Emergent Misalignment
Jul 29, 2026Hasibur Rahman, Smit DesaiLLM Alignment Personality Modeling in Language Models
Northeastern University Boston, MA, US
Identity from the Outside: A Conceptual Framework and Research Program for AI Personality Clones
Jul 27, 2026Luc E. BrunetPersona Consistency Personality Modeling in Language Models
R&D Mediation
LEX-EC: A Lexical Evidence-Channel Audit Framework for Zero-Shot LLM Personality Classification in Black-Box Settings
Jul 27, 2026Brittany Harbison, Ashok K. GoelZero-Shot Text Classification LLM Auditing
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Simulating Tenant Responses to Energy Policy Interventions with Transaction-Cost-Aware LLM Agent
Jul 27, 2026Weijie Xia, Stefanie Horian, Hanyue Huang +3Personality Modeling in Language Models Human Behavior Simulation
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands · Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
The Geometry of Personality: Activation Steering with Jungian Cognitive Functions
Jul 23, 2026Liu Zai, Yumeng Wang, Junchen Fu +1Language Model Steering Personality Modeling in Language Models
University of Glasgow · Leiden University
The Two-Process Theory of Machine Self-Report
Jul 22, 2026Hubert Plisiecki, Filip Chmielewski, Kacper Dudzic +3Personality Modeling in Language Models Language Model Self-Assessment
IDEAS Research Institute · Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, University of Lodz
The Story Shapes the Agent: Narrative Priors in LLM Behavior
Jul 20, 2026Yixuan Wang, James Lester, Shashank SrivastavaPersonality Modeling in Language Models
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · North Carolina State University
The Librarian Who Refused to Code: Model-Dependent Identity Enactment in LLM Code Generation
Jul 19, 2026Shayell Aharon Salomon, Noam Israel, Ido Safruti +1Personality Modeling in Language Models Code Generation
Bluebear Security
What Models Express, Suppress, and Resist: Auditing Open-Weight LLMs with Persona Vectors
Jul 14, 2026Winston Zeng, Ali Emami, Jinho ChoiLanguage Model Steering LLM Interpretability
Emory University
Fine-Tuned Multi-Agent Framework for Detecting OCEAN in Life Narratives
Jul 13, 2026Rasiq Hussain, Darshil Italiya, Joshua Oltmanns +1Personality Modeling in Language Models Multi-Agent LLMs
Southern Methodist University · Washington University in St. Louis
AI YOU Town: Make Friends and Money with Your Digital Twin
Jul 12, 2026Yan Lin, Yuyang Dai, Jiahui Geng +1Personality Modeling in Language Models Digital Twins
INSAIT, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” · Newcastle University · Linköping University
Behavioural Signatures of Risk-Sensitive Decision-Making in Large Language Models
Jul 11, 2026Xuankun Rong, Wenke Huang, Bo Du +2Personality Modeling in Language Models LLM Decision-Making
School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China · College of Computing and Data Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Large-Language-Models-as-a-Judge in Theory-Agnostic Adaptive Metric-Alignment for Prototypical Networks in Personality Recognition
Jul 9, 2026Jing Jie Tan, Ban-Hoe Kwan, Danny Wee-Kiat Ng +6Personality Modeling in Language Models Metric Learning
Department of Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia · Institute of Communication Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan · Institute of Information Management, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan +2
Persona Cartography: Charting Language Model Personality Traits in Weight Space
Jul 8, 2026Luke Baines, Anton Gonzalvez Hawthorne, Mariia Koroliuk +4Personality Modeling in Language Models
LASR Labs · ENS Paris-Saclay and MATS · UK AI Security Institute
From Triggers to Emotions: A CPM-Grounded Appraisal Multi-Agent for Dynamic Emotional Evolution in Persona-Based Dialogue
Jul 8, 2026Jingyao Cai, Shuaijun Liu, Abdul Rehman +6Multi-Agent LLM Systems Personality Modeling in Language Models
National Centre for Computer Animation, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, United Kingdom · Information Hub, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China · Key Laboratory of Child Cognition & Behavior Development of Hainan Province, Qiongtai Normal University, Haikou, China +2
The Dual Nature of LLM Persona: Aggregated Tendencies and Frame-Dependent Geometry
Jul 2, 2026Yuan YuanPersona Consistency Personality Modeling in Language Models
Independent Researcher.
Behavior-Adaptive Conversational Agents: Toward a Fluid Personality Framework
Jul 1, 2026Hasibur Rahman, Smit DesaiPersonality Modeling in Language Models Conversational Agents
Northeastern University Boston, MA, USA
FinPersona-Bench: A Benchmark for Longitudinal Psychometric Stability of Autonomous Financial Agents
Jun 30, 2026Muhammad Usman Safder, Ayesha Gull, Rania Elbadry +7Personality Modeling in Language Models Long-Horizon Agent Evaluation
Steve · MBZUAI · The University of Tokyo +2
LLM-Driven Personalities for Decision Making in Emergency Simulations
Jun 30, 2026Stefano Calzolari, Rubens Montanha, Gabriel Schneider +5Personality Modeling in Language Models Human Behavior Simulation
Politecnico di Torino · PUCRS
Mechanistic Personality Analysis of LLMs Steering Personality via Latent Feature Interventions
Jun 27, 2026David Courtis, Ting HuLanguage Model Steering LLM Interpretability
Department of Computing, Queen’s University Kingston, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Aristotelian Virtue Profiling of LLMs through Ethical Dilemmas
Jun 27, 2026Ioannis Tzachristas, John PavlopoulosLLM Evaluation Moral Reasoning in Language Models
1Technical University of Munich, Germany · 2Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece · 3Archimedes, Athena Research Center, Greece
When Does Personality Composition Matter for Multi-Agent LLM Teams?
Jun 25, 2026Aryan Keluskar, Amrita Bhattacharjee, Huan LiuMulti-Agent LLM Systems Multi-Agent Negotiation
School of Computing & AI Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Improving General Role-Playing Agents via Psychology-Grounded Reasoning and Role-Aware Policy Optimization
Jun 25, 2026Zhenhua Xu, Dongsheng Chen, Jian Li +7Large Language Model-Based Role-Play Simulation Personality Modeling in Language Models
1Zhejiang University · 2Tencent Youtu Lab
Apparent Psychological Profiles of Large Language Models are Largely a Measurement Artifact
Jun 18, 2026Jelena Meyer, David Garcia, Dirk U. WulffLLM Evaluation Personality Modeling in Language Models
Max Planck Institute for Human Development. · University of Konstanz. · Barcelona Supercomputing Center. +1
Creative Collision: Directorial Persona Steering and Competition in Large Language Models
Jun 15, 2026Subramanyam Sahoo, Justin ShenkLanguage Model Steering Personality Modeling in Language Models
Horizon Research.
Persona-Pruner: Sculpting Lightweight Models for Role-Playing
Jun 12, 2026Jinsu Kim, Jihoon Tack, Noah Lee +1LLM Pruning Large Language Model-Based Role-Play Simulation
Department of Artificial Intelligence, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea · Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea
HyPE: Category-Aware Hypergraph Encoding with Persistent Edge Embeddings for Persona-Grounded Dialogue
Jun 11, 2026Sangwon Youn, Yoonjin Jang, Youngjoong KoPersonality Modeling in Language Models Hypergraph Neural Networks
Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
Rethinking Psychometric Evaluation of LLMs: When and Why Self-Reports Predict Behavior
Jun 10, 2026Rafal Kocielnik, Pengrui Han, Peiyang Song +5Personality Modeling in Language Models
Caltech · UIUC · University of Cambridge
When Role-playing, Do Models Believe What They Say?
Jun 9, 2026Benjamin Sturgeon, David Africa, Sid BlackLarge Language Model-Based Role-Play Simulation Personality Modeling in Language Models
MATS
Modeling Complex Behaviors: Multi-Personality Composition and Dynamic Switching in Vision-Language Models
Jun 9, 2026Peiqi Jia, Haonan Jia, Ziqi Miao +3VLM Evaluation Personality Modeling in Language Models
Xi’an Jiaotong University · Beihang University

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The Persona Hierarchy Model: Understanding Contextual Generalization in Fine-Tuning LLMs

Jiachen Zhao, Zhengxuan Wu, David Bau, Weiyan Shi

Northeastern University · Stanford University

LLM Fine-Tuning LLM Alignment Personality Modeling in Language Models

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Language models are routinely fine-tuned under a fixed context, such as a generic system prompt, persona or domain-specific instruction, yet the learned behavior sometimes stays confined to that context and sometimes broadly generalizes to unseen contexts. We propose the Persona Hierarchy Model to explain this: a shared default persona influences behavior across contexts. Under this model, fine-tuning that modifies the shared persona promotes broader transfer, whereas changes to local personas remain more context-specific. Across 120 fine-tuned models spanning four behaviors and 15 training contexts, generalization narrowness positively correlates with the similarity between the training context's persona and the default persona (Pearson's r = 0.72 for Qwen3-4B). Prior fine-tuning under the default context can broaden generalization in subsequent training under other contexts. Aligning contextual responses with default-persona responses produces stronger effects. Finally, we propose persona-preserving regularization (PPR) to confine undesired contextual generalization. In RL, PPR cuts reward hacking from 42-55% to at most 0.2% under every evaluated prompt while retaining accuracy gains. These results support the Persona Hierarchy Model as an explanation for contextual generalization and can motivate future controls on unintended generalization for better alignment of LLMs.

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