diff --git a/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh b/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
index 1ac1c56c..fa50c1f6 100755
--- a/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
+++ b/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
@@ -241,11 +241,15 @@ PROMPT
   # on all platforms, not just when the observer happens to be launched from the project root.
   cd "$PROJECT_DIR" || { echo "[$(date)] Failed to cd to PROJECT_DIR ($PROJECT_DIR), skipping analysis" >> "$LOG_FILE"; rm -f "$analysis_file"; return; }
 
-  # Prevent observe.sh from recording this automated Haiku session as observations.
+  # Prevent observe.sh from recording this automated observer session as observations.
   # Pass prompt via -p flag instead of stdin redirect for Windows compatibility (#842).
   # prompt_content is already loaded in-memory so this no longer depends on the
   # mktemp absolute path continuing to resolve after cwd changes (#1296).
-  ECC_SKIP_OBSERVE=1 ECC_HOOK_PROFILE=minimal claude --model haiku --max-turns "$max_turns" --print \
+  # Model is configurable via ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL (defaults to haiku for cost efficiency);
+  # e.g. ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL=opus for higher-quality instinct extraction. Heavier models are
+  # slower — consider raising ECC_OBSERVER_TIMEOUT_SECONDS (default 120s) so the watchdog
+  # doesn't kill the analysis mid-run.
+  ECC_SKIP_OBSERVE=1 ECC_HOOK_PROFILE=minimal claude --model "${ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL:-haiku}" --max-turns "$max_turns" --print \
     --allowedTools "Read,Write" \
     -p "$prompt_content" >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 &
   claude_pid=$!
diff --git a/tests/hooks/observer-memory.test.js b/tests/hooks/observer-memory.test.js
index 597c7df2..9bfbdde0 100644
--- a/tests/hooks/observer-memory.test.js
+++ b/tests/hooks/observer-memory.test.js
@@ -454,8 +454,13 @@ test('claude invocation still includes ECC_SKIP_OBSERVE and ECC_HOOK_PROFILE gua
   const content = fs.readFileSync(observerLoopPath, 'utf8');
   // Find the claude execution line(s)
   const lines = content.split('\n');
-  const claudeLine = lines.find(l => l.includes('claude --model haiku'));
-  assert.ok(claudeLine, 'Should find claude --model haiku invocation line');
+  const claudeLine = lines.find(l => l.includes('claude --model'));
+  assert.ok(claudeLine, 'Should find claude --model invocation line');
+  // Model is configurable via ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL but must still default to haiku.
+  assert.ok(
+    claudeLine.includes('${ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL:-haiku}'),
+    `claude --model should default to haiku and honor ECC_OBSERVER_MODEL, got: ${claudeLine}`
+  );
   // The env vars are on the same line as the claude command
   const claudeLineIndex = lines.indexOf(claudeLine);
   const fullCommand = lines.slice(Math.max(0, claudeLineIndex - 1), claudeLineIndex + 3).join(' ');