Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale – Chinese Version

Description

Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) refers to the worry and fear of negative or critical judgments from others and is considered a core characteristic of social anxiety. The cognitive-behavioral model of social anxiety posits that individuals monitor their behavior to form impressions or representations of themselves. However, this psychological representation is often distorted and biased. These biased impressions lead individuals to preset negative evaluations of their surroundings, resulting in corresponding physiological, cognitive, and behavioral anxiety experiences. This, in turn, increases the degree of distortion in their self-representations regarding appearance and behavior, thus forming a maladaptive negative feedback loop. The fear of negative evaluation can directly trigger various anxiety emotions, and relevant studies indicate that it can significantly predict a range of anxieties, such as social anxiety and exam anxiety.

Authors and Contact Email

Chen Zhiyan is the primary author of the revised Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNES). Contact email: information not available.

Purpose

The purpose of the BFNES is to measure the level of fear of negative evaluation among individuals.

Test Year

The revised version of the scale was introduced in 2002.

Administration Method and Scoring

The BFNES consists of 12 items and employs a Likert 5-point scoring system, where 1 indicates “completely disagree” (完全不符合) and 5 indicates “extremely agree” (极其符合). Items 2, 4, 7, and 10 are reverse-scored. A higher score indicates a higher level of fear of negative evaluation.

Reliability and Validity

Information not available.

Factors and Subscales

Information not available.

Keywords

Fear of Negative Evaluation, Social Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Model, BFNES, Distorted Self-representation

Items in Chinese

1. 即使我知道别人的看法无关紧要，我还是担心别人怎么看我。
2. 即使我知道别人对我印象不好，我也不在意。
3. 我经常害怕别人对我指出我的缺点。
4. 我很少忧虑自己会给别人留下什么样的印象。
5. 我害怕得不到别人的认可。
6. 我害怕别人会挑我的毛病。
7. 别人对我看法，并不影响我。
8. 当我和别人谈话时，我担心他们会怎样看我。
9. 我时常担心我给别人留下什么样的印象。
10. 如果我知道有人在评价我，我也不在乎。
11. 有时我觉得自己过于担心别人怎么看我。
12. 我通常担心我会说错话或做错事。

Items in English

1. Even though I know others’ opinions do not matter, I still worry about how they see me.
2. Even though I know others have a bad impression of me, I don’t care.
3. I often fear that others will point out my flaws.
4. I rarely worry about the impression I leave on others.
5. I fear not getting others’ approval.
6. I fear that others will criticize my faults.
7. Others’ opinions of me do not affect me.
8. When I talk to others, I worry about how they view me.
9. I often worry about the impression I leave on others.
10. If I know someone is evaluating me, I don’t care.
11. Sometimes I feel that I worry too much about how others see me.
12. I usually worry that I will say the wrong thing or do something wrong.

References

李斯颖. 中职生同伴依恋、负面评价恐惧与拒绝敏感性的关系：一项追踪研究[D].贵州师范大学,2023.DOI:10.27048/d.cnki.ggzsu.2023.001449.
史敬怡,韦欣雨,王礼军.负面评价恐惧与大学生容貌焦虑的关系：功能失调性态度的中介作用[J/OL].中国健康心理学杂志:1-10[2023-10-29].http://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/11.5257.R.20230711.1530.008.html