Fear of positive evaluation and the bivalent fear of evaluation model of social anxiety: An Integration

Abstract

Humans have an inherent need to belong to a social group, and ostracism can lead to significant personal costs. Therefore, the fear of negative evaluation by others, along with its associated consequence of social anxiety, appears to be evolutionarily adaptive. Numerous studies have demonstrated that social anxiety, as well as its clinical manifestation, social anxiety disorder (SAD), is not only linked to an intense fear of negative evaluation but also to a fear of positive evaluation. This phenomenon has been termed the Bivalent Fear of Evaluation (BFOE) model of social anxiety. While the fear of negative evaluation can be understood from an evolutionary standpoint, the fear of positive evaluation poses a challenge for such an account. Clarifying the relationship between these two fears—positive and negative evaluation—may provide new insights into the nature of social anxiety and SAD. After summarizing and reviewing studies comprising this special issue, I will conclude that any form of evaluative feedback rising self-focused attention—whether positive, negative, or even neutral—can cause distress due to heightened sensitivity to social feedback in general. However, different mechanisms and contextual factors are implicated. In line with cognitive models of SAD, the self and self-perception are central to both social anxiety and SAD. This has significant theoretical and clinical implications.