The conventional approach to social anxiety is the fear of being negatively evaluated by others and avoiding social environments in order not to experience this situation. However, psychologists who try to explain social anxiety according to evolutionary theory have suggested that the opposite may also happen. Accordingly, social anxiety does not have to stem solely from a fear of being negatively evaluated. Being evaluated positively by others in a social environment can lead to social anxiety in individuals, as can being evaluated negatively.
So why does the possibility of being appreciated by the people around us cause social anxiety? Before moving on to this, perhaps it is necessary to understand why we are afraid of being evaluated negatively. Being criticized, judged or having negative thoughts about us by someone in a circle of friends, family or at work creates a scary situation for us. Because if the negative evaluations of people in a group about us turn into a general judgment, we face the possibility of being excluded. We are very sensitive to being excluded because the appreciation we are excluded from causes us to lose control over many things, including self-control. The reason why being excluded scares us so much and causes us to lose control is that in ancient times, individuals who were excluded from a community had a very low probability of survival. Because in such a case, we would either remain in a place where we were not loved or we would have to leave the group. This means that we will encounter various difficulties in meeting our vital needs.
The fear of being evaluated positively is actually fed from the same source. When we encounter a positive judgment in a group, the attention of others shifts to us. Although this attention is born as a result of a positive judgment and will probably yield positive results, it carries some risk. The risk it carries is that this positive judgment will create potential competitors for us and we will be perceived as dangerous by some. Please evaluate the expressions in this last sentence by thinking of human life in much older ages. Standing out in a group will mean that your needs will be met in a more qualified or quantitative way, but on the other hand, it will increase the number of competitors who want the same needs. The closest example to this situation in the modern world may be business life. An employee whose work is appreciated may sometimes want to avoid this or avoid highlighting what they do because they think that attracting the attention of their colleagues with whom they share the same office will have negative consequences for them. As a result of this situation caused by social competition, social anxiety can be fed.
For deeper readings, the model that explains social anxiety in this way is known in the literature as the Two-Way Fear of Evaluation Model of Social Anxiety. If you would like to access articles on any subject you wish, you can contact me.
