Role of Feedback and Social Anxiety in Dating Situations

  • Kanika Singh

Student thesis: Master's ThesisMaster of Arts (MA)

Abstract

Social anxiety has been linked to both the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) and the Fear of Positive Evaluation, suggesting that receiving feedback (whether positive or negative) is difficult for persons with social anxiety. However, little research has examined whether receiving feedback in an evaluative setting (e.g., dating) can directly affect social anxiety levels. Thus, this study examined whether varying types of feedback (negative, positive, and neutral) can affect the levels of social anxiety for individuals in a dating scenario. Feedback was provided to participants and examined in relation to their levels of FNE and FPE. Participants consisted of undergraduate students who completed measures online both before and after being asked to imagine themselves receiving feedback in a dating scenario. The results demonstrated that, in a dating situation, receiving positive feedback can decrease social anxiety levels whereas receiving negative feedback can increase social anxiety levels.
Date of Award2022
Original languageAmerican English
Awarding Institution
  • Eastern Illinois University
SupervisorWesley Allan (Supervisor)

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Clinical Psychology

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