Exploring the Relationship Between Fear of Positive Evaluation and Social Anxiety: Mediating Role of Self-Focus

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that fear of positive evaluation (FPE) is closely associated with social anxiety. However, studies examining the unique role of FPE and investigating the nature of the relationship between FPE and social anxiety are limited. This article presents two studies to address this gap. The first study (N = 314) examines the individual role of FPE on social anxiety while controlling for fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and maladaptive cognitions. The second study (N = 342) investigates the mediating role of self-focused attention in the relationship between FPE and social anxiety. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that FPE explains additional variances in social anxiety above and beyond FNE and maladaptive cognitions. Study 2 found that self-focus mediates the relationship between FPE and social anxiety when FNE is controlled. The current findings highlight the critical role of FPE on social anxiety and provide valuable information on how FPE contributes to social anxiety.

Keywords

Fear of positive evaluation fear of negative evaluation social anxiety self-focus maladaptive cognitions

Introduction

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychological problems characterized by intense fear and avoidance of social settings (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). SAD is highly correlated with other psychiatric disorders (Gökdağ et al., 2024; Koyuncu et al., 2019) and is associated with impairment in various aspects of functioning, such as work, school, and social life (Aderka et al., 2012).

Several cognitive-behavioral models have been developed to explain SAD’s etiological and maintaining factors (e.g., Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014; Hofmann, 2007). Both cognitive models and APA (2013) suggest that fear of negative evaluation (FNE) is one of the core features of SAD, and numerous studies confirm the positive association between FNE and social anxiety (Carleton et al., 2007; Gök & Yalçınkaya-Alkar, 2023; Liu et al., 2020). On the other hand, Weeks et al., 2008a assert that socially anxious individuals not only fear being evaluated negatively but also that positive evaluations lead to distress. In line with this notion, they proposed a novel cognitive concept relevant to social anxiety: fear of positive evaluation (FPE). Studies examining FNE, FPE, and social anxiety show that FPE and FNE are closely related constructs, but FPE explains unique variance in social anxiety controlling for FNE (Cook et al., 2022; Fredrick & Luebbe, 2020; Peker & Akkuş, 2024). Despite the established role of FPE in social anxiety beyond FNE, there is a scarcity of studies integrating FPE with other relevant constructs. Hence, examining FPE alongside other features of SAD offers valuable insights into its unique contribution.

Cognitive models of SAD primarily focus on cognitive constructs and suggest that maladaptive cognitive factors play an essential role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety (Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014; Hofmann, 2007). Specifically, Clark and Wells (1995) highlight the overestimation probability and consequences of social mishaps, conditional beliefs about social evaluation, unconditional beliefs about self, excessively high standards for social performance, and anticipatory and post-event processing. Hofmann (2007) also describes various cognitive factors that maintain SAD, such as negative self-perception, low perceived emotional control, perceived poor social skills, and high estimated social cost. In addition to several factors common with previous models, Heimberg et al., (2014) emphasize distorted mental representation of the self as seen by the audience and the comparison of these mental representations with others’ expected standards and overestimation of the visibility of physical symptoms of anxiety. In support of these theoretical assumptions, various studies found a significant association between social anxiety and interpretation bias (Chen et al., 2020), negative thoughts that occur before and after social performance (Modini & Abbott, 2016; Wong, 2016), distorted performance appraisal (Akkuş & Tekinsav-Sutcu, 2022; Penney & Abbott, 2014), maladaptive core beliefs (Wong et al., 2017), conditional beliefs (Gkika et al., 2018) and cognitive distortions (Kaplan et al., 2017; Kuru et al., 2018). In sum, it is clear that unrealistic cognitions about self, social performance, and other people are fundamental features of SAD.

As outlined earlier, FNE, FPE, and cognitive mechanisms have individually demonstrated associations with social anxiety. However, no study to date has investigated all these cognitive constructs simultaneously. Addressing these cognitive factors together allows for determining the individual contributions of each to social anxiety symptoms. Maladaptive cognitions, FNE, and FPE are addressed together because they represent unhealthy cognitive structures with trait characteristics. Since FPE is a novel and relatively less studied construct, this paper will focus on the role of FPE beyond the mentioned factors, which are consistently found to be related to social anxiety. By controlling for the effects of FNE and maladaptive cognitions on social anxiety, examining the role of FPE clarifies its individual role on social anxiety symptoms. Thus, the current study might provide important insight into whether FPE plays a considerable role in social anxiety independent of well-known factors.

Additionally, although many studies found a positive association between FPE and social anxiety, the underlying mechanism in this relationship is not clear. Several theoretical explanations have been proposed (e.g., Gilbert, 2001; Reichenberger & Blechert, 2018; Weeks & Howell, 2014), but empirical findings that explain why FPE contributes to social anxiety are limited. Thus, in addition to determining the unique role of FPE on social anxiety, this paper also aims to clarify this relationship.

Self-focus might be a potential construct that explains how FPE contributes to social anxiety symptoms. Cognitive models (Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014; Hofmann, 2007) assume that when socially anxious individuals enter social situations, they shift their attention inward and monitor themselves in detail. Empirical studies support the notion that individuals with social anxiety have heightened self-focus in social settings (Akkuş, 2022; Grisham et al., 2015; Norton & Abbott, 2016). Clark and Wells (1995) assert that self-focus plays an essential role in maintaining social anxiety because it interferes with observing the situations and other people’s behavior, and socially anxious individuals construct an impression of themselves based on self-focused information. It is also suggested that FNE increases self-focus attention (Clark & Wells, 1995). Consistent with this perspective, several studies have highlighted a positive correlation between FNE and self-focus (Akkuş, 2022; Woddy & Rodriguez, 2000; Junghans-Rutelonis et al., 2015). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet investigated the association between FPE, self-focus, and social anxiety. FPE may lead individuals to direct their attention toward themselves in socially anxiety-provoking situations, thereby perpetuating social anxiety symptoms. Hence, delving into this relationship could yield valuable insights into the role of FPE in social anxiety.

Based on the aforementioned literature, this paper presents two studies. The primary objective of the first study is to investigate the individual role of FPE on social anxiety while considering FNE and maladaptive cognitions. The hypothesis posits a positive association between FPE and social anxiety, even after accounting for other factors. In the second study, the mediator role of self-focus in the relationship between FPE and social anxiety is examined. It is expected that FPE will heighten self-focus, which in turn will exacerbate symptoms of social anxiety.

Methods

Participants and Procedure

The sample of study 1 consists of undergraduates from Turkey (M_age = 21.59, SD = 2.26). Of the 314 participants, 251 (79.9%) were women and 63 (20.1%) were men. A total of 342 Turkish university students (M_age = 20.29, SD = 1.34), two hundred ninety-five (86.3%) female, and forty-seven (13.7%) participated in the study 2. Ethical approval was obtained from the Afyon Kocatepe University Ethical Committee for both study 1 and study 2. Before administering the instruments, participants were provided with essential information, including the general aim of the study, assurances of confidentiality, and the voluntary nature of participation. The data was collected via an online tool, and participants were incentivized with course credit in return for their participation. The completion of the questionnaires required approximately 20 minutes.

Instruments

Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE)

The 12-item Likert-type (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely) scale was developed by Leary (1983) and translated into Turkish by Çetin et al., (2010). Because the adaptation study shows that one item does not work well, the Turkish version of the scale consists of 11 items and a single factor. The Cronbach alpha score was reported as 0.84 in the adaptation study, and the current research (both studies 1 and 2) found .92.

Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES)

The 10-item scale was originally created by Weeks et al., 2008a and adapted to Turkish by Doğan & Totan, 2010a. Two items were reverse-scored and did not contribute to the scale’s total score, and higher scores indicate higher FPE. While the original scale had nine response options, in the Turkish version, participants rate their level of agreement with statements on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all true, 5 = very true). The results of the factor analysis indicate that the Turkish version of the scale has a unifactorial structure. The Cronbach alpha score for reliability was reported as 0.73 by Doğan & Totan, 2010a. In this study, Cronbach alpha score was found to be .80 and .81 study 1 and study 2, respectively.

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)

The scale was developed by Liebowitz (1987) to assess social anxiety and was adapted to Turkish by Soykan et al., (2003). The scale comprises 24 social situations, with participants rating each item on a 4-point scale in terms of anxiety (0 = none, 3 = severe) and avoidance (0 = never, 3 = usually). The scale has a high Cronbach alpha score for both adaptation (0.98) and the current study .96 for study 1 and 2.

The Social Thoughts and Beliefs Scale (STABS)

The scale was developed by Turner et al., (2003) to assess maladaptive cognitions about SAD. The scale contains 21 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never characteristic, 5 = always characteristic). Doğan & Totan, 2010b translated the scale to Turkish and reported Cronbach alpha for a total score of .90. Analyses of construct validity have demonstrated that, similar to the original version, the Turkish adaptation of the scale also exhibits a two-factor structure, consisting of social comparison and social ineptness. In this study, Cronbach alpha was calculated as .95.

Self-Focused Attention Scale (SFA)

The scale was developed by Bögel et al., (1996) to assess attention processes within social contexts. The SFA consists of two dimensions: arousal and behavioral, comprising 11 items rated from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). Higher scores indicate greater self-focus during social interactions. Demir (2017) adapted the scale for Turkish and reported a Cronbach’s alpha value of .92. Similar to the original version, the Turkish adaptation of the SFA consists of two factors: behavioral and interoceptive. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha score was .91.

Data Analysis

Analyzes were conducted via SPSS version 25. In study 1, Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between all variables. Subsequently, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the main hypothesis. In order to determine the unique role of FPE on social anxiety, FNE, and maladaptive cognitions were regressed in the first step, and FPE was added in the second step.

In study 2, in order to determine the indirect effect of self-focus in the relationship between FPE and social anxiety, mediation analysis was applied using PROCESS macro for SPSS. Since FPE and FNE are closely related constructs, FNE was included in the model as a covariate. The significance of the indirect effects was evaluated through follow-up bias-corrected bootstrap analyses, employing 5000 resampling iterations to estimate a 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

Study 1

Correlation analysis shows that FNE, FPE, social anxiety, and maladaptive cognitions are significantly related to each other. Means, standard deviations (SD), and correlation coefficients values are provided in Table 1.

Table 1.

Correlations, Descriptive Statistics, and Reliability Estimates for Study 1 (N = 314).

Variables	1	2	3	4
1. Social anxiety	1
2. FNE	.64**	1
3. FPE	.59**	.46**	1
4. Maladaptive cognitions	.65**	.63**	.65**	1
Mean	58.76	31.76	19.56	45.98
SD	28.04	9.87	6.06	17.43

**p < .01.

Hierarchical regression analysis shows that both FNE (B = 1.07, SE = .15, p < .01) and maladaptive cognitions (B = .65, SE = .08, p < .01) are positively related to social anxiety in the first step. FNE and maladaptive cognitions explained a 50% variance in social anxiety. In the second step, FPE was included in the equation and improved the model significantly (ΔF = 29.65, p < .01). Accordingly, FPE is associated with social anxiety positively and explains a 4% additional variance. In sum, it is found that FPE explained a significant amount of variance in social anxiety above and beyond FNE and maladaptive cognitions. Results are provided in Table 2.

Table 2.

Hierarchical Regression Analysis Results.

Variable	Step 1				Step 2
Variable	B	SE	β	t	B	SE	β	t
FNE	1.07	.15	.38	7.34	1.02	.14	.36	7.22**
Maladaptive cognitions	.65	.08	.41	7.90	.39	.09	.24	4.19**
FPE					1.27	.23	.27	5.44**
R ²			.50				.54
ΔR²							.04

**p < .01.

Study 2

As seen in Figure 1, the effect of FPE on self-focus (B = .53, SE = .08, t = 6.90, p < .01) and the effect of self-focus on social anxiety were significant (B = 1.08, SE = .13, t = 8.10, p < .01). FPE’s total effect on social anxiety symptoms was significant (B = 1.84, SE = .21, t = 8.87, p < .01), and the whole model was also significant (R² = .62, F [2, 339] = 108.75, p < .01). After controlling self-focus, the direct effect of FPE on social anxiety was significant (B = 1.26, SE = .20, t = 6.22, p < .01). The effect of FNE on self-focus (B = .33, SE = .05, t = 6.24, p < .01) and on social anxiety were significant (B = .52, SE = .13, t = 3.82, p < .01). FNE’s total effect on social anxiety symptoms was also significant (B = .87, SE = .14, t = 6.21, p < .01). The bootstrap analysis also shows that the indirect relationship between FPE and social anxiety through self-focus controlling for FNE was also significant (B = .58, SE = .13, 95% CI .33 to .85). In other words when FNE is controlled, self-focus mediates the relationship between FPE and social anxiety.

Figure 1.

The mediator role of self-focus in the relationship between fear of positive evaluation and social anxiety controlling for fear of negative evaluation. Note. **p < .01, standardised values were reported.

Discussion

The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the association between FPE and social anxiety. To achieve this, two distinct studies were conducted. The first study revealed that FPE is positively related to social anxiety beyond FNE and maladaptive cognitions. Additionally, the second study showed that self-focus mediated the relationship between FPE and social anxiety when FNE is controlled.

Regression analysis in the first study revealed that FNE and maladaptive cognitions are significantly and individually associated with social anxiety. Findings regarding FNE and maladaptive cognitions are consistent with cognitive behavioral models (Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014; Hofmann, 2007), which suggest that FNE and maladaptive cognitive processes are essential aspects of SAD and numerous empirical studies (Carleton et al., 2007; Gkika et al., 2018; Gök & Yalçınkaya-Alkar, 2023; Kaplan et al., 2017; Peker & Akkuş, 2024; Wong et al., 2017) indicating a positive association between social anxiety and FNE and maladaptive cognitions. Some explanations can be suggested to explain how these cognitive constructs contribute to social anxiety. FNE and maladaptive cognitions may contribute to social anxiety symptoms by leading individuals to make distorted evaluations of social situations and their own performance. Specifically, high levels of FNE and maladaptive cognitions can cause individuals to perceive social situations as more threatening, evaluate ambiguous social stimuli more negatively, and interpret their performance in social situations as inadequate. This process significantly contributes to the anxiety-provoking nature of social settings (Akkuş, 2022; Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014). Both FNE and maladaptive cognitions might cause excessive anxiety regarding social settings, and experiencing high anxiety results in avoidance. Avoiding social situations may contribute to social anxiety symptoms by preventing the disconfirmation of unrealistic beliefs and predictions associated with social anxiety (e.g., “I will make huge mistakes,” “They will humiliate me”). Additionally, FNE and maladaptive cognitions may intensify social anxiety symptoms by triggering other maladaptive processes of SAD, such as anticipatory and post-event processing, self-focus, distorted performance appraisal, etc.

The current study found that FPE is uniquely associated with social anxiety above and beyond FNE and maladaptive cognitions. This finding is consistent with the previous studies that report that FPE has a unique role in social anxiety. A recent meta-analysis demonstrated that PFE and FNE together explain 9% additional variance in social anxiety than FNE alone (Cook et al., 2022). Weeks (2015) also found that FPE is related to social anxiety symptoms beyond negative and positive affect, FNE, and disqualification of positive social outcomes. Teale Sapach et al., (2015) examined the role of FPE, FNE, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty on social anxiety symptoms with a clinical sample. The results show that FPE accounts for individual variances in SAD symptoms, controlling all other cognitive constructs. FPE contributes to social anxiety in several ways. First, several studies reported that FPE is related to avoidance behaviors (Lipton et al., 2016; Vagos et al., 2016), which is a fundamental maintaining factor for social anxiety. Avoiding social situations where positive evaluation is possible may result in the reinforcement of various maladaptive schemas associated with social anxiety (e.g., “I am not loveable,” “I am inadequate”), hindering individuals from developing a favorable self-perception by benefiting from positive feedback. Moreover, since FPE is closely associated with the disqualification of positive social experiences (Weeks, 2010; Weeks & Howell, 2012), individuals with high levels of FPE may not benefit from their positive social experiences and modify the maladaptive beliefs associated with social anxiety mentioned previously. Consistent with this view, individuals with high FPE are less likely to believe in positive feedback (Weeks et al., 2008b). In sum, FPE not only hinders the occurrence of positive social experiences but also impedes individuals from deriving positive effects from such experiences when they do occur. Second, FPE might intensify social anxiety symptoms by leading to unrealistic appraisal regarding social performances. Two studies that contain speech performance tasks found that FPE is associated with more negative performance appraisal (Akkuş & Tekinsav-Sutcu, 2022; Weeks & Zoccola, 2016). As mentioned before, distorted performance appraisal is one of the main maintaining factors for SAD (Clark & Wells, 1995; Heimberg et al., 2014; Hofmann, 2007). Lastly, FPE might be associated with objective performance in addition to performance appraisal. In support of this view, a study involving participants engaged in impromptu speech performances found that FPE predicted independent observers’ (objective assessment) evaluations of participant’s performance controlling for FNE. In other words, FPE leads to poorer speech performance (Akkuş, 2022). Poor performance can reinforce maladaptive beliefs about oneself and social situations, thereby contributing to the persistence of social anxiety symptoms.

Although FPE has a statistically significant role on social anxiety symptoms, it is important to emphasize that this effect is relatively small. When controlling for other cognitive factors, the variance explained by FPE is only 4%. This result may be attributed to the strong correlation between FPE, FNE, and maladaptive cognitions.

Results of Study 2 show that self-focus mediates the relationship between FPE and social anxiety, controlling for FNE. In other words, higher FPE is related to greater self-focus, and it results in higher social anxiety symptoms. This result is consistent with some studies that found a significant association between FPE and high heart rate and subjective somatic symptoms during social performance (Carter et al., 2012; Weeks & Zoccola, 2015), indicating heightened self-focus. Similarly, Craven (2015) conducted a study with a speech task and reported that FPE positively correlates with self-focus attention during impromptu speech. High FPE may lead individuals to experience heightened anxiety in social situations, thereby directing their attention inward. This increased self-focus may reinforce maladaptive beliefs about the self and social situations, thereby contributing to symptoms of social anxiety disorder (Clark & Wells, 1995; Spurr & Stopa, 2002). Further, the heightened self-focused attention caused by FPE may lead individuals to demonstrate poorer performance, which can play an important role in maintaining social anxiety. Consistent with this conjecture, recent evidence reported a positive association between poor performance both FPE (Akkuş, 2022; Botkin et al., 2021) and self-focus (Daly et al., 1989; Stevens et al., 2010).

Several limitations should be addressed. The fact that the study sample comprises only university students limits the generalizability of the findings. The findings need to be tested in samples that include participants from different age and sociodemographic groups and individuals diagnosed with SAD. Repeating the study with a clinical group could help determine whether similar results are applicable to individuals diagnosed with SAD. While comparable outcomes are expected, the variance explained by the variables associated with social anxiety may differ. Since the cross-sectional design prevents establishing causality, longitudinal studies are warranted. Lastly, participants completed the self-focused attention scale by recalling a past social situation. This reduces the validity of the obtained data. Future studies could achieve more valid results using speech or conversation tasks.

Despite its limitations, this study provides significant contributions to the relevant literature. Demonstrating that FPE is associated with social anxiety independently from various factors that are strongly related to social anxiety underscores the unique effect of FPE. Furthermore, empirical findings regarding the mediating role of self-focus shed light on the relationship between FPE and social anxiety. The study has several clinical implications. The distinct associations of maladaptive cognitions, FNE, and FPE with social anxiety symptoms underscore the importance of incorporating intervention strategies tailored to each component into treatment. Moreover, the finding that FPE exacerbates social anxiety symptoms through self-focused attention suggests that interventions aimed at reducing FPE could also decrease self-focused attention, thereby improving treatment outcomes. Considering the findings of both studies collectively, it can be concluded that intervention strategies targeting FPE play a critical role in the treatment of social anxiety.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Statement

ORCID iD

Koray Akkuş

Data Availability Statement

The dataset is available from the corresponding author on request.

Author Biography

Koray Akkuş, Asst. Prof. at the department of psychology in İzmir Katip Çelebi University.

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