title: Fear of negative evaluation biases social evaluation inference: evidence from a probabilistic learning task.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) defines social anxiety yet the process of inferring social evaluation, and its potential role in maintaining social anxiety, is poorly understood. We developed an instrumental learning task to model social evaluation learning, predicting that FNE would specifically bias learning about the self but not others.
  
  
  METHODS
  During six test blocks (3 self-referential, 3 other-referential), participants (n = 100) met six personas and selected a word from a positive/negative pair to finish their social evaluation sentences "I think [you are / George is]…". Feedback contingencies corresponded to 3 rules, liked, neutral and disliked, with P[positive word correct] = 0.8, 0.5 and 0.2, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As FNE increased participants selected fewer positive words (β = -0.4, 95% CI -0.7, -0.2, p = 0.001), which was strongest in the self-referential condition (FNE × condition 0.28, 95% CI 0.01, 0.54, p = 0.04), and the neutral and dislike rules (FNE × condition × rule, p = 0.07). At low FNE the proportion of positive words selected for self-neutral and self-disliked greatly exceeded the feedback contingency, indicating poor learning, which improved as FNE increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FNE is associated with differences in processing social-evaluative information specifically about the self. At low FNE this manifests as insensitivity to learning negative self-referential evaluation. High FNE individuals are equally sensitive to learning positive or negative evaluation, which although objectively more accurate, may have detrimental effects on mental health.
authors: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors: Katherine S
authors: KS
authors: Button
authors: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors: Daphne
authors: D
authors: Kounali
authors: National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Lexine
authors: L
authors: Stapinski
authors: Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Ronald M
authors: RM
authors: Rapee
authors: Mental Health Sciences Unit, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors: Glyn
authors: G
authors: Lewis
authors: Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors: Marcus R
authors: MR
authors: Munafò
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult