Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale – Brief

What it measures

Measures apprehension about being negatively evaluated by others — a central cognitive feature of social anxiety. Distinguished from general social anxiety by its focus specifically on evaluation apprehension rather than avoidance or physiological arousal. Core cognitive target in CBT for social anxiety.

Response format

Likert (1–5, not at all characteristic to extremely characteristic of me)

Representative items

• I worry about what people will think of me even when I know it doesn't matter.
• I am frequently afraid of other people noticing my shortcomings.
• I rarely worry about seeming foolish to others. (R)
• I often worry that I will say or do the wrong things.
• Sometimes I think I am too concerned with what other people think of me.

Usage notes & scoring

(R)=reverse-scored. Higher scores = greater fear of negative evaluation. Freely available. Straight-item version (BFNE-S; Rodebaugh et al., 2004) is recommended as items are all unidirectional, improving factor structure.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Leary, M.R. (1983). A brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 9(3), 371–375.

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