jonc/cei-benchmark huggingface dataset:
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): After a manager raises specific concerns, deliverables, and deadlines in a feedback meeting about several missed follow-ups, a marketing associate responds.
Speaker: marketing associate (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: manager
Utterance: "Oh wow, thanks for the heads-up. I'll get right on that."
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (mixed-signals): After a tense project meeting where the manager pointed out multiple issues, you (an employee) stayed late to rework the slides and sent a short reply the next morning addressing their concerns.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "You're doing fine, just don't make so many mistakes next time."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): During the weekly status meeting a manger sits through a junior analyst's presentation that was obviously hastily updated the night before. Afterward the junior analyst asks for feedback in front of the team.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior analyst
Utterance: "Well you must have pounded that out quickly. Well done."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): During the early morning econ class, a student fell asleep in the first row. Upon seeing this, the professor addresses the rest of the class.
Speaker: professor (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: class
Utterance: "Note the surest way to an A grade: a willing spirit with a weak body."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (mixed-signals): Your manager pushed an aggressive timeline that the team couldn't meet. You've repeatedly stayed late to pick up their slack and now push back in a one-line reply.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: manager
Utterance: "We might burn out our team with too many late nights if we want to meet these aggressive deadlines."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): A team lead assigns an urgent deliverable late Friday. An associate who already planned personal commitments replies immediately in the group chat.
Speaker: associate (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: team lead
Utterance: "No problem. I can live in the office this weekend if that helps."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): At a cramped family kitchen after a tense phone call about their mother's upcoming surgery, two adult siblings are sitting across from each other. The sister sibling asks her brother sibling if he's handling the news okay.
Speaker: brother (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: sister
Utterance: "Your right, this has got to be hard on mom."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): At family dinner, one sibling asks for you feedback on a bestman speech they're planning to read at their friend's wedding. It's horribly inappropriate.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: sibling
Utterance: "The opening line is lovely, but you might want to soften the humor it in light of your audience."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (mixed-signals): It's just past midnight. A younger sister texts her older sister upset after failing an important exam. The older sister has been visibly exhausted and stretched thin caring for the family lately and replies from bed.
Speaker: older sister (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: younger sister
Utterance: "It's really important to do well in Calculus if you want to study Physics. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it next time."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You and your younger sibling share hotel room on a famliy vacation. Your younger sibling races to the room, unpacks their clothes, and sprawls on the better bed before you get to the room. You're standing in the doorway looking at the situation.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Wow, how thoughtful."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): During a party, a guy pauses as the topic turns to why they looked upset earlier. His roomate asked if he's still upset his best friend is now dating his immediate ex-partner.
Speaker: guy (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: roommate
Utterance: "I think they'll make a great couple. They deserve each other."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): After a chaotic family board-game night with accusation of cheating  and one sibling (Amy) storming out, you're left collecting pieces and trying to calm down the other family members.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: family
Utterance: "Well, cheaters never win so I know Amy wasn't accusing me."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): At a family potluck your cousin brought a homemade potato salad that tastes like dry wall spackle. You cousin comes up and asks you how you find their potato salad.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: cousin
Utterance: "It looks so colorful, it must have taken you a lot of time to prepare."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A father is texting his 19-year-old son, who just called him out for missing not pickuping the son up after practice. The son asks why he didn't show up.
Speaker: father (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: son
Utterance: "Don't worry, I'm on my way now."
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (mixed-signals): A father stayed late helping his adult child rehearse an important job presentation. Afterward, the adult child did okay but not as well as hoped.
Speaker: parent (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: adult child
Utterance: "I tried to help you last night. Maybe you just practiced too much."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You tried to fix the bathroom sink and ended up flooding the floor. Your spouse is watching the mess and notes that guests arrive in less than an hour.
Speaker: wife (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "How thoughtful. Instead of making our guests walk to the bathroom, I guess we'll just bring the bathroom to them."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): An aunt who has cancelled plans repeatedly messages her niece, who is busy with work, offering a weekend visit.
Speaker: aunt (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: niece
Utterance: "If you're free, come over Sunday assuming my schedule clears up."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): An older sibling drops by the younger sibling's apartment after months away. The younger sibling has a known habit of leaving clutter and never finishing chores.
Speaker: older sibling (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Wow, your place actually looks pretty good. I didn't expect to say that."
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You come home to find the living room covered in confetti, spilled snacks, and a cracked family vase after your teenage child threw an unsupervised party despite repeated warnings. Your teenager speaks to you.
Speaker: teenager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "You know, sometimes looks can be deciving."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): A parent has repeatedly asked their teenage child to help with household chores; the child has been skipping their turn for weeks. The parent speaks after the child says they’ll be 'too busy' again.
Speaker: mother (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: teenage_child
Utterance: "It's a good thing I’m never too busy to do the things you ask me to do."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): A waiter just knocked a tall cafŽ latte all over their your brand-new laptop while trying to help clean the adjacent tabletop. You immediately grab your laptop, turn it upside down so coffee can drip off your keyboard looking clearly upset.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: waiter
Utterance: "I hope you're not expecting another tip for that."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (strategic-politeness): An adult child is asked by a parent to help with re-roofing their vacation house the coming weekend, but the adult child already has limited time and lots of responsibilities with their own family home.
Speaker: adult child (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: parent
Utterance: "I sure wish I could help out, but this weekend is crazy. I hope it goes smoothly. Maybe I can lend a hand another time."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A teenager asks their parent for a later curfew after a hard week of exams. They butter up their parents with praise of the parent's support through the exams.
Speaker: teenager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: parent
Utterance: "You always make sure everything's taken care of and I really appreciate how much you do for me; would it be okay if I came home a little later on Friday? I promise I'll be responsible."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You planned a surprise anniversary dinner for your significant other. When you unexpectedly arrive home early from work with balloons, champagne, and a cake you find your significant other romantically entwined with the apartment handyman. Your significant other turns to you and explains.
Speaker: significant other (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "I guess your not the only one with a surprise?"
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In the school cafeteria, the classmate asks whether the college student told their latest date they didn't want exclusivity. The speaker replies while grinning.
Speaker: college student (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: classmate
Utterance: "I'm as exculsive as I'm allowed to be."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): You and your romantic partner share an apartment. They've been repeatedly leaving dishes in the sink and saying they'll do them later. You usually end up cleaning them. After another night of you washing alone, you hand your partner a towel while they're scrolling on the couch.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: patner
Utterance: "Don't worry, you’ve got this, the instructions are in the sink."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (strategic-politeness): You often host group outings gives one of your quieter friends feedback after a date where your friend dominated conversation.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "You can really open up when you want to, but maybe hold back a bit on the storytelling. People will appreciate you even more."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): Your blind date was an hour late and spent most of the night scrolling through their phone. You call your sister who set you up the next day.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: sister
Utterance: "I think we were most compatible on the apathy level."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A younger friend asks the more experienced friend if they regret ghosting someone they once dated who later became the popular girl in high school.
Speaker: experienced friend (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: younger friend
Utterance: "I was the one who made her popular"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): During a vulnerable moment the man asks his partner directly whether they have feelings for them. The partner appears less certain and nervous.
Speaker: partner (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: man
Utterance: "Sure, I have feelings for everyone."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (mixed-signals): After a mildly awkward first date, one friend texts the other the next morning. The texting friend had been the one to suggest meeting but the date ended early and the other friend hasn't reached out since.
Speaker: initiating friend (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: silent friend
Utterance: "We’re cool, right?"
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): You've been texting a friend who often cancels last-minute. Tonight they finally show up for a movie they promised weeks ago but were late and distracted. You're quieter than usual.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "Nice of you to make time. I'm glad you could fit me in."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You planned an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant with your new partner. They arrived two hours late without apologizing and then said they'd 'changed plans' so the reservation was lost.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: partner
Utterance: "Don't worry, I've made backup reservations at McDonalds."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): On a second date a woman asks her date, 'Where do you see this going?' after a serious comment about exclusivity.
Speaker: date (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: woman
Utterance: "Right now I see us going to dinner and a movie."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You and a more socially dominant friend went on a double date. Your date monopolized the conversation and made a few awkward comments that left you embarrassed in front of the other couple.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: other couple
Utterance: "Well at least I couldn't put my foot in my mouth since I couldn't get a word in edgewise."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): You and a friend are deciding plans for a group date night. The friend tends to make all the decisions and dismisses your ideas instead opting for a risky attempt to get late tickets to a concert. When they announce their plan, you reluctantly concede.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "Okay, do it your way. There’s always a chance it works out."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): In a project Slack channel, you missed a deadline and a teammate who has been covering for you sends a direct message after reviewing your latest comment. They've stayed late a few nights this week helping the team.
Speaker: coworker (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "There are serious problems with your last pitch. Let's sort it out next week."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a meeting among co-workers, the packaging engineer calls out the designer for not replying to an urgent request last weekend.
Speaker: designer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: product engineer
Utterance: "I always promptly respond to urgent requests. So your message last week must not have been that urgent"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A discussion between a salesperson and their field engineer after the engineer skipped a scheduled client call. The salesperson directly asks the field engineering about why they missed the call.
Speaker: field engineer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: salesperson
Utterance: "I wouldn't say 'skipped' so much as 'jumped' - know what I mean?"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): In the morning standup meeting, a manager responds briefly after an employee admits they're behind on deliverables and feeling overwhelmed.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: direct_report
Utterance: "It’s fine, just focus on the high priority items and just finish the project by tomorrow morning.  We'll discuss growth after the quarter."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (mixed-signals): The manager has previously spent extra time coaching this person but on Slack the morning after an employee missed a deadline the manager sent a short message while clearly busy.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: employee
Utterance: "Please don't ever miss such an important deadline again. Don't worry, I've got your back."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): On Slack, a department manager replies after a junior analyst finally uploads a report that had been overdue despite multiple reminders.
Speaker: department manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior analyst
Utterance: "Thanks for finally sending the report. I hope the extra time means it's an extra good report."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): A movie critic posts a scathing review of the debut novel by your friend who is a feature new author in a New Yorker book review.  Your new author friend turns to you.
Speaker: new author friend (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "They say those can do, those who can't critique. Looks like I have a promising second career."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (mixed-signals): A senior engineer posts a terse code-review comment late at night on a junior developer's pull request fix. That senior has previously stayed late to help this developer but the current message is short and abrupt.
Speaker: senior engineer (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior developer
Utterance: "This is sloppy; need to fix it before I push it live."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): A professor emails a graduate student after receiving a late revision that had already been flagged in earlier comments.
Speaker: professor (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: graduate student
Utterance: "No worries, just make sure it's truly final next time."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): A utility company manager asks the company's webmaster to post an electricity outage message on the company's website.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: webmaster
Utterance: "Well at least our CEO got his performance bonus this quarter."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): An email from a senior partner to a junior associate after reading a draft brief. The partner compliments the work but says they won't be able to use it.
Speaker: senior partner (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior associate
Utterance: "Nice work on the brief, but it's not what we had in mind."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A meticulous senior community moderator responds to a sloppy junior volunteer who offered to cover extra moderation shifts over email.
Speaker: senior moderator (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior moderator
Utterance: "I really appreciate you offering to cover, but I think we'll handle it internally this time. Thanks for checking!"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): On a long group hiking trip into primative park forests, everyone thought someone else was packing toilet paper for the group.  The hiking leader addresses everyone around a campfire about the confusion.
Speaker: leader (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: group
Utterance: "I guess we'll all really find out what the meaning of "roughing it" means this week"
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a private Slack DM, the product_director asks the marketing_intern whether the launch checklist and metrics are ready; the intern replies immediately with an upbeat, unrelated suggestion.
Speaker: marketing_intern (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: product_director
Utterance: "Also have you tried the new cafe on 3rd? Their croissants are unreal; we should grab coffee after the launch!"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): In the project's Slack channel, the engineering manager announced a new, earlier deadline late in the day. The junior developer, who has limited time and less power to push back, replies in the channel where the manager and other leads can see it.
Speaker: junior developer (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: engineering manager
Utterance: "No problem. I'll get it done by Friday. Thanks for the late notice!"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): An adult child replies to a parent's group text reminders about attending a weekly family dinner. The child lives farther away and the parent has a history of repeatedly checking in a little too often.
Speaker: adult child (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: parent
Utterance: "Thanks for the reminder. I'll clear my schedule so you don't have to keep asking."
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You're a forum user whose post was removed and who received a firm, public warning from a moderator. You message the moderator directly afterward.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: moderator
Utterance: "That was some moderation skill on displayÉ"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): You and a peer were collaborating on a joint report. They just uploaded their draft later than expected which contains nothing useful that isn't already in your current report version. The team's deadline is tomorrow.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: colleague
Utterance: "Thanks for getting this in. It's a bit behind where we're already at. Given tomorrows deadline, perhaps we can think about coordinating better on the next project?"
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a small-team discussion a customer support manager brings up a well-known bugs in the company software and gently asks the engineer manager when the bugs will be fixed.
Speaker: engineer manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: customer support manager
Utterance: "Are you sure it's not user errors?"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): During a peer code review you want to point out structural problems but also acknowledge the parts that are done well.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: peer
Utterance: "This is a solid foundation and you handled the edge cases well; there are some structural issues that will make maintenance hard if we ship it as-is, so let's refactor those parts before merge—otherwise great work."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): During a one-on-one peer check-in, Alex asks Jamie why the construction project missed the deadline after Jamie had promised it would be met.
Speaker: Jaime (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: Alex
Utterance: "Let's put a pin in that for now and move on to new topics."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): You have been working late with a colleagues on a shared report after a missed internal deadline. Your colleague, who stayed later last night to clean up sections, messages you the next morning.
Speaker: colleague (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "Good work, but if you keep it up I'll never get home."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): Two colleagues in the same product team just finished a client demo. The presentation creator has repeatedly covered for the presenter when they were unprepared in past meetings, now the creator is standing near the coffee machine as others congratulate the presenter.
Speaker: presentation creator (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: Presenter
Utterance: "Wow, you actually handled that presentation really well. How did you pull that off?"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): In a cross-functional project chat, a coworker repeatedly volunteers for high-profile tasks and later leaves execution gaps. The speaker has volunteered availability for these high-profile tasks before but feels overlooked. The team is allocating the next coding sprint tasks.
Speaker: Speaker (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: Coworker
Utterance: "Sure, go ahead and take the lead on this one. It's not like I haven't been available before or and its not like these tasks aren’t getting done."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise