Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Anxiety in the Context of the Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Abstract
The main goal of this research paper is to examine the predictive power of personality traits in relation to fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety. The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) postulates the existence of three major personality systems - Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS), Behavioural Activation System (BAS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). In order to assess the personality traits, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Questionnaire was used (RSQ). Fear of negative evaluation was assessed using the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale – Brief form (FNE-B), while social anxiety evaluation was obtained by Social Anxiety Scale (SA2). The sample consisted of 222 psychology students engaged in 1st and 2nd year of studies at the University of Niš and the University of Novi Sad. In order to respond to the research questions, two separate multiple regression analyses were performed. In both analyses, personality traits were the predictors, while the differences were linked to the criteria variables – Model1 – fear of negative evaluation, and Model2 – social anxiety. Both models were statistically significant. According to the results, Fear of negative evaluation model explains a total of 41% of the criteria variance, while Social anxiety model explains 46% of the criteria variance. In both models, BIS stands out as the statistically significant and the best predictor. When comparing the results of both models, the differences relate to the second significant predictor. Namely, Fight response stands out in the first model, while Freeze response stands out in the second one. The obtained findings are discussed and interpreted in the context of rRST.
References
Alinčić, M. (2013). Osobine ličnosti i asertivnost kao prediktori samopoštovanja i socijalne anksioznosti. Primenjena psihologija, 6(2), 139–154.
Buttemore, R. N. (2009). The evolved function of social anxiety: Detecting high stakes social interactions. Dissertation theses. Michigan: University of Michigan.
Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In: R. G. Heimberg, M. R. Liebowitz, D. A. Hope, & F. R. Schneier (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment and treatment (pp. 69–93). New York: Guilford Press.
Coles, M. E., & Horng, B. (2006). Social anxiety disorder. In: M. Hersen, J. C. Thomas, & F. Andrasik (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of personality and psychopathology: Adult psychopathology, Vol. 2 (pp. 138–153). Hobokn, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Coplan, R. J., Wilson, J., Frohlick, S. L., & Zelenski, J. (2006). A person-oriented analysis of behavioural inhibition and behavioural activation in children. Personality and Individual Differences, 41(5), 917–927.
Corr, P. J. (2002). J. A. Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory: Tests of the joint subsystems hypothesis of anxiety and impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 511–532.
Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., & Elliot, A. J. (2000). Behavioural activation and inhibition in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1135–1149.
Gray, J. A., & McNaughton, N. (2000). The neuropsychology of anxiety: An enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Hook, J. N., & Valentiner, D. P. (2002). Are specific and generalized social phobias qualitatively distinct? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9, 379–395.
Johnson, S. L., Turner, R. J., & Iwata, N. (2003). BIS/BAS levels and psychiatric disorder: An epidemiological study. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 25, 25–36.
Kashdan, T. B. (2002). Social anxiety dimensions, neuroticism, and the contours of positive psychological functioning. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 789–810.
Kashdan, T. B., & Roberts, J. E. (2006). Affective outcomes in superficial and intimate interactions: Roles of social anxiety and curiosity. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(2), 140–167.
Kimbrel, N. A. (2008). A model of the development and maintenance of generalized social phobia. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 592–612.
Kimbrel, N. A. (2012). BIS, BAS and Bias: The role of personality and cognitive bias in social anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 395–400.
Kimbrel, N. A., Cobb, A. R., Mitchell, J. T., Hundt, N. E., & Nelson-Gray, R. O. (2008). Sensitivity to punishment and low maternal care account for the link between bulimic and social anxiety symptomatology. Eating Behaviors, 9, 210–217.
Kimbrel, N. A., Mitchell, J. T., & Nelson-Gray, R. O. (2010). An examination of the relationship between behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity and social interaction anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 372–378.
Krueger, R. F. (1999). The structure of common mental disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 921–926.
Krueger, R. F., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1998). The structure and stability of common mental disorders (DSM-III-R): A longitudinal-epidemiological study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 216–227.
Leary, M. R. (1983). A brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 9, 371–376.
Leary, M. R. (1996). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behavior. Oxford: Westview press.
Leitenberg, H. (1990). Handbook of social and evaluation anxiety. New York: Plenum.
Lundh, L. G., & Ost, L. G. (1997). Explicit and implicit memory bias in social phobia. The role of subdiagnostic type. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(4), 305–317.
Ly, C. (2011). The relevance of reinforcement sensitivity theory to social anxiety and response to cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder. Dissertation theses. University of Tasmania.
McNaughton, N., & Corr, P. J. (2004). A two-dimensional neuropsychology of defense: Fear/anxiety and defensive distance. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 285–305.
Mladenović, U., & Knebl, J. (1999). Religioznost, aspekti self-koncepta i anksioznost adolescenata. Psihologija, (1–2), 83–96.
Pickering, A. & Corr, P. (2008). J. A. Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) of Personality. In: G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Personality Theory and Assessment – Vol 2 Personality Measurement and Assessment (pp. 239–256). Los Angeles: Sage.
Rapee, R. M., & Heimberg, R. G. (1997). A cognitive behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. Behavior Therapy and Research, 35, 741–756.
Reddy, V. (2005). Feeling shy and showing-off: Self-conscious emotions must regulate self-awareness. In: N. Jacqueline & M. Darwin (Eds.), Emotional development: Recent research advances (pp. 183–204). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Schlenker, B. R., & Leary, M. R. (1982). Social anxiety and self-presentation: A conceptualization and model. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 641–669.
Smederevac, S., Mitrović, D. i Čolović, P. (2010). Velikih Pet plus Dva. Beograd: Centar za primenjenu psihologiju.
Smederevac, S., Mitrović, D., Čolović, P. i Nikolašević, Ž. (2014). Validation of the measure of revised reinforcement sensitivity. Journal of Individual Differences, 35(1), 12–21.
Smederevac, S., Čolović, P. i Mitrović, D. (2009). Procena osetljivosti na potkrepljenje. U Biro, M., Smederevac, S. i Novović, Z. (ured.), Procena psiholoških i pishopatoloških fenomena (str. 89–100). Beograd: Centar za primenjenu psihologiju.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics (6th edition). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Tovilović, S. (2004). Latentna struktura Skale socijalne anksioznosti i relacije između socijalne anksioznosti i iracionalnih uverenja. Psihologija, 37(1), 63–88.
Wallace, S. T., & Alden, L. E. (1997). Social phobia and positive social events: The price of success. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 416–424.
Watson, D., & Friend, R. (1969). Measurement of social-evaluative anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 448–457.
Zinbarg, R. E., & Lira Yoon, K. (2008). RST and clinical disorders: Anxiety and depression. In: P. J. Corr (Ed.), The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of personality (pp. 360–397). Cambridge University Press.
The details about the publication policy, including copyright and licensing, are available at: