Fear of Positive Evaluation: The Neglected Fear Domain in Social Anxiety

A massive body of data has accumulated on the etiology, symptomology, and treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) since it was first introduced as a psychiatric disorder. Much of this research has focused on a well-established core cognitive feature of SAD: the fear of negative evaluation (FNE). More recent, and continually accumulating, evidence highlights fear of positive evaluation (FPE) as a potential co-core feature of SAD. Yet, FPE has received markedly less attention to date than FNE, suggesting that this fear domain may currently be “neglected” in research and practice. FPE consists of feelings of apprehension about others' positive evaluations and distress over these evaluations. In the present review, we outline: the theoretical overview of FPE; discuss the assessment and overall construct validity of FPE; and break down extant findings on FPE with regard to cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Implications for the theoretical conceptualization and treatment of SAD are discussed.