jonc/cei-benchmark huggingface dataset:
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): After the programmer accidentally pushed a code update that reverted most of the day's progress, another teammate sighs and addresses the small group of peers who worked on it together.
Speaker: teammate (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: programmer
Utterance: "Well, that went... great."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): A developer in code review notices that a new programmer merged an untested change that broke the build late on a Friday. The developer posts to the team chat.
Speaker: developer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: new programmer
Utterance: "Nice job merging your updatesÉ exactly what we needed on a Friday afternoon."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A teammate asks you last-minute to take on part of their workload for the upcoming project. You respond in your team chat.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: teammate
Utterance: "I love that you asked, but I'm going to pass on taking this. I don't have the bandwidth this quarter, but thanks for thinking of me."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): In a project meeting a tech running the demo couldn't get the it working, and the presenter found slides were missing. So they both hurriedly skipped explanations while others stared.
Speaker: tech (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: presenter
Utterance: "Well, that went perfectly."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): You ask a colleague to cover part of your workload for the next two weeks so you can join an exciting new project part-time. The colleague replies by email.
Speaker: colleague (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "I wish I could help, but I can't take this on right now. I'm joining another exciting new project part-time."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): Right before the big media demo, a junior developer accidentally pushed an update that crashed the website. A senior manager pulls the junior developer aside.
Speaker: senior manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior developer
Utterance: "Don't worry, I'm sure the media is here to see me and not the new product."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A faculty advisor replies to a student's email asking to join an ongoing research project.
Speaker: professor (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "I appreciate your interest. I don't think this particular project is the best match right now, but I encourage you to look into other opportunities in the lab."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): After you stayed late helping to prepare materials assigned to you at the last minute. Your manager skims them quickly and replies with a curt comment about timing. You respond the next morning.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: manager
Utterance: "Next time, please give me a bit more notice."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): After a client presentation went off the rails because the manager forgot the slide deck, an his intern nephwe turns to the manager in the meeting room.
Speaker: intern nephew (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: manager
Utterance: "Wow, so that's what they pay you the big bucks for."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): A junior developer is responding to their manager after being asked to handle another round of weekend QA. The junior has been given disproportionate weekend work compared with more senior colleagues over several cycles.
Speaker: junior developer (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: engineering manager
Utterance: "Sure, I'll take care of the extra QA this weekend, don't worry about me; I know you have more important things to do."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): After a meeting in which the CEO harshly criticized the new fashion rollout in front of the team, a designer stops the CEO in the hallway.
Speaker: designer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: CEO
Utterance: "I guess the finance guys driving this fashion line are better at numbers than fashion."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (mixed-signals): You're on a video call with your younger sister. She just finished telling you she's anxious about an upcoming interview and has been pacing. You waited a beat before replying.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: sister
Utterance: "You're doing fine. It's really important, but try not to overthink it."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): You and your sibling usually trade cooking and chores. Lately they cancel plans and expect you to cover evenings. Tonight they say they need to head out with friends right before dinner.
Speaker: You (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Oh, it's fine go ahead and go; I can make dinner again, don't worry about me."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): At a quiet family dinner, your younger sibling asks if you told Mom and Dad about losing your job earlier this month.
Speaker: older sibling (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Oh wow remember when Dad burned the Thanksgiving turkey and we all pretended it was 'extra crispy'?"
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (passive-aggression): Two adult siblings coordinate driving their elderly parent to a mid-morning medical appointment. The younger sibling texts that they'll be a bit late because of work, and the older sibling, who has done most of the rides lately, replies immediately.
Speaker: older sibling (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Oh, that's fine take as long as you need. I’ve got all the time in the world like always."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (strategic-politeness): You share a small apartment with a friend. Your roommate has been late doing dishes and leaving food on the counter for several days. After a long shift you come home to another mess and speak up.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: roommate
Utterance: "Hey, I know you've been swamped lately. Thanks for picking up last week, but  could you try to stay on top of the dishes this week?"
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): Two siblings discuss a violin solo rehearsal the brother did for a family event. The sister has a history of blunt feedback but often softens criticism to avoid hurting feelings.
Speaker: sister (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: brother
Utterance: "You were really confident during most of it, and I loved your opening and finish. Keep that up."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (mixed-signals): After a fight, your cousin has been distant for weeks and hasn't visited. They send a short message offering you a way back in.
Speaker: cousin (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "If you ever want to come by, the door may be open."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A tired parent speaks to their adult child who often starts chores but leaves things unfinished around the house.
Speaker: parent (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: adult child
Utterance: "I really appreciate how much you try to help, I know you mean well."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A grandparent responds to their grown child's last-minute request to babysit on a weekend they had already planned for themselves.
Speaker: grandparent (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: adult child
Utterance: "I'd love to babysit, but I can't this weekend. Please tell me if there's another way I can help."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (passive-aggression): A mother notices her teenage child's socks and a few small messes have been put away after weeks of reminders about chores. The household has a history of the teen doing the minimum and the parent repeatedly nagging.
Speaker: mother (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: teenage child
Utterance: "You actually put your socks in the hamper, how civilized of you."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): A father learns his adult child skipped another family dinner. This is the third time in a row the child has missed an important family occasion. The family has a history of the parent minimizing conflict to keep family peace.
Speaker: father (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: adult chlid
Utterance: "It's really okay that you couldn't make Mom's birthday again; we managed fine without you."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A father is responding to his adult child who just told him they didn't get a promotion they interviewed for; they're speaking over the phone.
Speaker: father (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: adult child
Utterance: "This one probably wasn't the right fit, but I'm proud of how you put yourself out there."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): An older sibling discovers their younger sister forgot to book their shared flight home, which means the both sibling missed a major family reunion.
Speaker: older sibling (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: younger sibling
Utterance: "Nice work on missing the family reunion. I'm sure they were getting tired of us anyway."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): During a weekend visit, a mother asks her adult son why he still hasn't transferred his share of the rent after several reminders.
Speaker: adult son (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: mother
Utterance: "Yeah, about that Mom, thank a load to help me out with a place to crash after my last eviction."
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (mixed-signals): A 23-year-old adult child texts their parent at 2:15 AM after a rough day at work. The parent often responds quickly when worried but has also been short tempered lately, claiming to be exhausted from extra shifts.
Speaker: mother (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: adult child
Utterance: "You're doing fine, just call me if you need anything."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): On a second date, the conversation turns serious when the woman asks her partner whether they should be exclusive.
Speaker: partner (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: woman
Utterance: "You bet, as serious as a heart attack!"
Speaker's actual emotion: disgust
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A professor asks why their colleague skipped an important event they were expected to attend together.
Speaker: colleague (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: professor
Utterance: "I wouldn't say 'skipped' so much as 'jumped' - know what I mean?"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): After a third date, your close friend asks your opinion about a eccentric person they're seeing; you give a measured response.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "Your new partner is really vivacious. You know I'm here for you."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (passive-aggression): You lent a favorite jacket to a close friend for a concert; they returned it with a faint wine stain and the sleeve a bit stretched. This isn't the first time they've been careless with your things, and you haven't directly complained before.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "Thanks for bringing my jacket back, its almost like new."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A man recently broke up with their partner. A close friend texts asking if he's actually okay, since they've been distant. Both are peers who used to date.
Speaker: man (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: ex partner friend
Utterance: "Just as OK as I was after we broke up."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A friend asks you to help them move into their apartment this weekend. You feel overwhelmed and need to set a boundary but don't want to escalate.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "I really wish I could help you move this weekend, but I already have plans with family. I hope that's okay."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A friend who usually makes last-minute plans is telling you they can't keep accommodating you after repeated cancellations.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "I apologize my schedule is so rigid and requires a little bit more planning."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (passive-aggression): You planned a small anniversary dinner with your partner, but they forgot and spent the evening with friends. Your partner apologized the next day. You are both tired and still living in the same place, so direct confrontation would escalate things.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: forgetful partner
Utterance: "It's totally fine. Don't worry about it, I'm glad you had a nice night."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (strategic-politeness): An old friend who has previously lent you money several times politely tells you they can't this time.
Speaker: friend (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "I have a lot bills piling up right now, but I hope you can find another solution soon."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): After a first date, you text them to wrap things up. You want to be kind but end the possibility of another date.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: date
Utterance: "You're so kind and I had a nice time tonight. I just don't think we're quite right for each other."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): You met your ex and your ex's partner's at a small gathering of a common friend with your new partner. Later, talking to your new partner, you make this remark the heated argument you saw between your ex and their new partner.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: your partner
Utterance: "Well, I guess I it wasn't just me after all."
Speaker's actual emotion: joy
Scenario (mixed-signals): You spent hours helping a close friend redo their dating profile and even stayed late to give feedback. Shortly after, you see they post something reckless and you reply quickly with a sharp line.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "Be original but don't be weird. Get it together or people might ghost you."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (passive-aggression): You and a friend had plans to go out. Your friend (who usually calls the shots socially) cancels last minute yet again. You respond when they apologize.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm happy to stay in again."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): Slack DM between two teammates after a missed deadline. The project lead asks the database manager for an explanation about why a deliverable wasn't updated before the review.
Speaker: database manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: project lead
Utterance: "Why do they call it a "deadline" anyway. We're both still alive and kicking aren't we?"
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (mixed-signals): On Slack a teammate sends a private late-night message after you missed a minor deadline. Earlier that day they'd been terse in the thread and haven't offered help.
Speaker: teammate (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "I'm happy to help, but you've got to learn how to fix these types of problems by yourself."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): A group chat of friends on Messenger where one man recently hinted they were upset after a breakup; a friend asks if they're okay.
Speaker: man (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: friend
Utterance: "OK? I'm about as sound as the English pound."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (strategic-politeness): You and a teammate are collaborating on an major analyst report for work. They created a unusable first draft with AI to claim first authorship, but it is so bad you will have to redo it from scratch.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: teammate
Utterance: "Thanks, this is a solid start, but it's a bit misaligned with the project? Let me take a stab at it with fresh eyes."
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a private bar a junior salesperson asks their manager directly whether the rumored round of layoffs will affect their team after a terse all-hands meeting is called. Thee manager replies immediately.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior salesperson
Utterance: "Not as long as we don't forget to bring all our hands to the meeting tomorrow."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (mixed-signals): It's 11:30 p.m. and your manager sends a Slack private message after you missed a minor deadline. Earlier that day they'd been curt in the meeting but also approved overtime on your task list.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: you
Utterance: "Don't stress and get some sleep. When you're not late your work is great."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a company Slack DM, an engineering manager follows up after a missed feature deadline; the junior engineer asked whether the delay will affect their performance review.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: employee
Utterance: "Oh wow, that deadline stuff is annoying remember when we finished the Q1 rollout in two sleepless days? Also, have you tried the new coffee machine in the break room yet?"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a family group message, a father asks his adult daughter if they will still come to the big weekend game after an earlier family fight at Thanksgiving.
Speaker: daughter (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: father
Utterance: "Oh, I forgot about the game. BTW, remember when I tripped at the championship soccer match and you still cheered me on?"
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (mixed-signals): A manager messages a junior analyst in a team Slack channel about a client report. The manager has previously defended the junior in meetings and has provided one-on-one coaching, but the deadline pressures are high and the report contains clear errors.
Speaker: manager (relation to listener: high-to-low)
Listener: junior analyst
Utterance: "You can do better than this. But if you can't, let me know."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A product analyst writes to their product lead in an online document review thread about a roadmap draft they were asked to support but seems fundamentallyl flawed.
Speaker: product analyst (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: product lead
Utterance: "I really appreciate how you brought the team together on this. The roadmap looks promising, but there are a few spots where additional customer data would strengthen the case - could we discuss revisions off-line?"
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): After a professor texts a reminder that the intern missed sending slides for a lab meeting, the research intern replies with an upbeat logistics-focused message instead of apologizing or explaining the delay.
Speaker: research intern (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: professor
Utterance: "If the data is ready and the analytics model works we should have visualizations ready soon"
Speaker's actual emotion: anticipation
Scenario (mixed-signals): After staying late to patch a production issue due to unrealistic deadlines, a junior engineer messages their supervisor about the decision that caused the outage.
Speaker: junior engineer (relation to listener: low-to-high)
Listener: supervisor
Utterance: "I think we got it fixed, but the problem may not be in the software."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (strategic-politeness): On Slack you reply to a senior lead who just posted a new, unrealistic deadline for a project you're responsible for.
Speaker: you (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: senior lead
Utterance: "Thanks for the update. I'll do my best to align with that by next sprint, but we might want to discuss alternative backup plans."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): In the team's Slack channel, a colleague posts a PDF of the monthly report five hours late. It has several factual errors and broken charts. The team is waiting on this for a meeting. A peer replies in the thread.
Speaker: peer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: colleague
Utterance: "Oh wow, that report was... a triple double."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (deflection-misdirection): In a project Slack channel a senior developer points out that a colleague's missing commit caused a small delay and asks what the plan is to fix it.
Speaker: colleague (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: senior developer
Utterance: "No worries at all! If we get the backend working then the front end should be fine."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): After a difficult negotiation call where the supplier was foced to slash their wholesale price in the face of pressure for a large retailer, the supplier's lawyer turns to the supplier's lead negotiator and speaks.
Speaker: lawyer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: vendor lead negotiator
Utterance: "You really drove a hard bargain. That's going to leave a mark for days."
Speaker's actual emotion: anger
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): When website traffic actually fell after the multi-million dollar ad campaign,  the CEO sent a curt, disappointed email to their social media manager.
Speaker: CEO (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: social media manager
Utterance: "You were supposed to drive internet traffic TO our website, not the other way around."
Speaker's actual emotion: sadness
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): During the weekly check-in with his parole officer, the ex-con was consistently late by 15-30mins every time.
Speaker: parole officer (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: ex-con
Utterance: "When you make me wait it feels like I'm doing hard time."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (sarcasm-irony): At the all-hands launch party with media and investors, the startup development manager revealed to a stranger the software is unstable due to several critical bugs. It turns out the stranger is a tech reporter who only reveals their identity later, and then leaves with this comment.
Speaker: tech reporter (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: development manager
Utterance: "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me and my YouTube subscribers - we'll keep it between the 700k of us."
Speaker's actual emotion: fear
Scenario (passive-aggression): A team lead replies to an engineer who frequently misses morning meetings and turns in partial updates, sending a short message after another late check-in.
Speaker: team_lead (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: engineer
Utterance: "No worries, whenever you're ready send the update; I know your mornings can be tough."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (passive-aggression): After an employee admits they overlooked an important requirement, a director responds during a quick check-in.
Speaker: director (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: employee
Utterance: "Thanks for letting me know. That's really helpful. I'll rearrange my entire schedule to fit this in."
Speaker's actual emotion: surprise
Scenario (strategic-politeness): A director replies to a senior associate who volunteered to take on an extra task during an especially busy quarter.
Speaker: director (relation to listener: peer)
Listener: senior associate
Utterance: "I appreciate you offering to help, but you've already got so much on your plate. I'll take care of this one myself, but reach out if I need help."
Speaker's actual emotion: trust