The book’s vocabulary

Reassurance

Information that helps you feel correct and justified — and the question of what it adds.

From The World That Agrees With You3 sections of the book1 related post

Information that helps a person feel correct and justified. It can ease doubt after a purchase, confirm a political judgment every morning, or praise an unexamined idea at work.

The useful question is not whether reassurance is pleasant but whether it adds information or mainly helps you feel better — and whether the source would tell you if the decision needed another look. Reassurance becomes sycophancy when the agreement displaces a warranted correction.

Definition from The World That Agrees With You: Understanding and Managing Sycophancy in the Age of AI, by Timothy O’Brien. © 2026 Timothy O’Brien. All rights reserved.

In the book

See also

  • Selective exposure
  • Dissonance reduction
  • Tailored information