Examining the Relation Between the Fear of Negative Evaluation and the Anxiety for Social Appearance in Folk Dancers

The purpose of this study was to analyze and examine the relationship between the fear of negative evaluation and the anxiety for social appearance in folk dancers. The relational survey method was used in the study. “The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) Scale”, which was developed by Leary (1983) and the “Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS)”, which was developed by Hart et al. (2008) were used as the data collection tools in the study. The participants of this study consisted of 215 volunteer folk dancers who were selected with random sampling method in Interuniversity Folk Dances Championship in 2016-2017. When the findings obtained in the study were examined in terms of demographical variables, there was significant difference in the gender, income levels and folk dance experience. According to the scores obtained in the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, it was determined that the dancers who spent most of their life at their villages, who had middle-level income, who were female, and who had less folk dance experience had higher average values. According to the correlation results between the scales, it was determined that there is a positive and high-level relation between social appearance anxiety and the fear of negative evaluation.


Introduction
A human is a social creature, which is a requirement of his nature, and lives in a network of relations. When considered in terms of human relations, individuals want to leave an effect in their living areas because they are affected by the properties and behaviors of other people (Şahin, 2013).
In every area of social life, the effort of individuals for leaving a positive impression in their living areas and for being liked by others is referred to as the self-presentation or impression management (Yousefi, Hassani & Shokri, 2009). Impression management may be observed in every aspect of social behavior. The level of anxiety increases especially in individuals who think that they will leave negative impressions on other people around (Doğan & Kılıç, 2009;Leary & Kowalski, 1997). Anxiety is the emotional situation in which being nervous, angry, and suspicions are associated with being active or with the alertness of the body. The anxiety for social appearance is the inclination of people that is defined as the level of the anxiety experienced by them when their bodies are examined by others (Balcı & Şahin, 2015). Doğan (2010) defined anxiety for appearance as a negative body image of an individual about his/her body and physical appearance. In addition, since there are statements like "caring for the clothing, the attitude towards the dance, make-up, posture on the stage, gestures, mimics, and the physical expression of the dance" in the criteria used by the referees in folk dance competitions, social appearance plays an important role in achieving success of the team. It is considered that this situation triggers the anxiety for social appearance in folk dancers.
The fear of negative evaluation was first defined by Watson and Friend (1969) as the anxiety about the evaluations of others, being worried about the negative evaluations, and expecting that others will evaluate one in a negative way (Watson & Friend, 1969). Fear of negative evaluation also refers to the social worry of an individual in evaluation environment (Sevimli, 2009).
The most significant feature of this feeling of the individual about being negatively evaluated or by a hostile manner by other people in his/her social circle is that the individual feels an excessive and continuous fear of being negatively evaluated, despised and ashamed in the existence of other people (Çetin, Doğan & Sapmaz, 2010). Literature reports that the fear of being negatively evaluated by other people is closely related with personality (Eaves & Eysenck, 1975;Keighin, Butcher & Darnell, 2009) and innate permanent properties (Brumariu & Kerns, 2008;Bruch & Heimberg, 1994;Köydemir-Özden&Demir, 2009).
When this situation is considered in terms of social comparison theory, it is claimed that this perceptional process of the dancers that will be reflected to the competitions and the fear of negative evaluation the dancers will increase, which will eventually cause that the body perceptions of the dancers will also be reflected in their body perceptions. Besides, it is known that the awareness on increasing the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance perception is also increasing (Köse, Bayköse, Bal-Turan & Yerlisu-Lapa, 2016). As a matter of fact, it is emphasized in some research findings that anxiety and negative evaluation emerge in situations when showing performance is on the agenda of individuals. The term social phobia was first used by Pierre Janet in 1903 to define people who had fear of being watched by others when speaking, playing the piano or writing (Heckelman & Schneier, 1995).
Based on these data, the aim of the study was to examine and define the relation between various demographic variables and the fear of negative evaluation and the anxiety for social appearance in dancers who participated in Interuniversity Folk Dance Championship.

Purpose and Method
It was aimed that the relation between the fear of negative evaluation and the social appearance anxiety was analyzed and examined. In this context, the study is an example for relational survey method. It was examined whether the fear of negative evaluation and the social appearance anxiety levels differed according to some demographical features (gender, income level, the place where s/he spends most of his/her life and folk dance experiences) of the folk dancers.

Population and Sample
The study population consisted of the 215 folk dancers who participated in Interuniversity Folk Dance Group Championship in 2016. All the participants were volunteer and were determined with the random selection method.

Data Collection Tools
"The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) Scale" and "Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS)" were used as data collection tools.
"The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) Scale" was developed by Leary (1983) to measure the tolerance of individuals about being evaluated negatively or in a hostile manner by others and is in the form of self-notification. The adaptation of the scale in Turkish culture was performed by Çetin, Doğan and Sapmaz (2010). The internal consistency coefficient of the scale was found to be .84. The reliability coefficient, which was obtained with test half-life method, was 0.83. "Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS)" was developed by Hart et al. (2008), and the Turkish adaptation study of it was conducted by Doğan (2010). The internal consistency coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.93. The reliability coefficient, which was obtained with test half-life method, was found to be .88. The fitness index values of the scale were found as RMSEA=0.051, NFI=0.98, CFI=0.99, IFI=0.99, RFI=0.98, GFI=0.93 and AGFI=0.90.

The Analysis of the Data
The statistical analysis of this study was performed by descriptive analysis (frequency, percentage distributions), t-test, one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) and the Pearson Correlation Analysis.  When table 2 is analyzed it is observed that there is a positive and significant relation above the medium level between the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety according to r (215) =,62, p=,000<,05; and the fear of negative evaluation explains %38,4 (r 2 =0,62x0,62=0,384) of social appearance anxiety. As the fear of negative evaluation scores of the folk dancers increase, so do their social appearance anxiety levels. In table 3, the difference between the fear of negative evaluation and gender variable of the folk dancers were analyzed. It was determined that there is a significant difference between the fear of negative evaluation and gender of the folk dancers according to t (213) =3,19, p=,002<,05. This significant difference stems from higher scores of the female dancers about the fear of negative evaluation ( X =29,57), when compared with the fear of negative evaluation scores of the male folk dancers ( X =26,47). When table 4 is analyzed, it is seen that there is a significant difference between the gender of the folk dancers and social appearance anxiety according to t (213) =2,22, p=,028<,05. This significant difference stems from the average scores of the female folk dancers ( X =36,34) being higher than that of the male folk dancers ( X =31,66). When the relation between the income level and the fear of negative evaluation scores of the folk dancers who were included in the study were analyzed it was determined that the fear of negative evaluation in the participants who had medium income levels was higher ( X =28,81) than those who had upper-level incomes ( X =25,09); and these rates created the significant difference according to t (213) =3,10, p=,002<,05. When table 6 is analyzed it is seen that there is a significant difference between the income levels of the folk dancers and their social appearance anxiety in favor of those who are in the medium income level. This significant difference stems from the decrease in the fear of negative evaluation as the status, population and surface area of the residential areas of the folk dancers increase. It was determined that the data shown in table 8 proves that there is a statistically significant difference between the residential area of the folk dancers and social appearance anxiety according to One-Way ANOVA analysis results.

Results
According to the results, as the residential area grows, the social appearance anxiety decreases.  9 is analyzed it is seen that there is a significant difference between the experiences of the folk dancers and the fear of negative evaluation according to F (3-211) =7,01, p=,000<,05. This significant difference stems from the fact that the fear of negative evaluation scores of the dancers with 1-2 years and 3-4 years experience are higher than those of the folk dancers with experiences of 7 and over years. As the experience of the folk dancers increases, the fear of negative evaluation scores decreases. When table 10 is analyzed, it is seen that there is a significant difference between the experience of the folk dancers and their social appearance anxiety according to F (3-211) =3,09, p=,000<,05. This significant difference stems from the fact that the folk dancers with 1-2 years and 3-4 years folk experience have higher social appearance anxiety levels than those who have 7 and over years of experience. As the folk dance experience of folk dancers increase, their social appearance anxiety levels decrease.

Discussion and Conclusion
When the correlation results between the scales used as data collection tools in the study are evaluated, it is observed that there is a positive, significant relationship between the fear of negative evaluation scores of the folk dancers and their social appearance anxiety scores according to r (215) =,62, p=,000<,05 (Table 2). In addition, according to the findings, the fear of negative evaluation explains 38,4% (r 2 =0,62X0,62=0,384) of the social appearance anxiety. According to this result, it can be claimed that having social appearance anxiety triggers the fear of negative evaluation.
In the relevant literature, it was emphasized that the anxiety types that appear in situations like performance, success and similar factors in individuals might cause the fear of negative evaluation.
Studies reported the factors that led to anxiety in sports as the high expectations of other people, the fear for mistakes or failure, the importance of the competition, the excessive value given to the result, high-level weariness and the fear of negative evaluation (Jones, Swain & Cale, 1991).
According to Horwitz et al. (1986), students who experience the process of evaluation of the performance in examinations may have feelings like fear for exams, exam anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Such fears and anxieties stem from the individual's thinking that s/he will be negatively evaluated. Thus, the individual avoids the evaluations of others and flees from the environments if there is a type of any evaluation. Sevimli (2009) defined this situation as "the individuals who think that their performances will be bad in an examination or competition may have the fear of negative evaluation, which is one of the three important fear types".
The study also determined that there are significant differences between the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety according to gender variable. These differences stem from the fact that female folk dancers have higher average values than the male folk dancers (Table 3-4). It was also determined in the present study that the gender variable is a significant factor on the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety.
Similar to the results of the present study, in general, studies conducted so far in the literature report that the fear of negative evaluation varies according to the gender variable (Stewart, Morris, Mellings, & Komar, 2006;Ketra, 2012;Bremser, 2012;Karademir, 2015). (2010) conducted a study and investigated the social physical anxiety levels of university dancers, and reported that there was a significant difference between the females and males. It was also determined that female dancers were more disturbed by their own physical appearances when compared with the male dancers. In other words, they had negative considerations about their physical appearances. Öztürk et al. (2015) conducted a study on university students and female and male gender roles predicted the social appearance anxiety at a significant level. They also reported that there was a positive relation between the female and male gender roles and social appearance anxiety. These results agree with the results of our study.

Çepikkurt and Coşkun
Physical appearance in social life has always been an important factor for females. According to Pacteau (2005), beauty is referred to females or abstained from them as of their childhood years. Similar to the fear of males for being sterilized, no female can avoid the "expectation for beauty". Furthermore, according to Reventos (1998), the importance given by females on their appearances has increased in our present day when compared with the past. In this way, females show a specific effort in this sense and direct their life according to this purpose.
According to Özkişi (2013), when females oppose to the gender role in the society in terms of body perception, they feel excluded and ashamed because of their appearances, and this causes that they experience social appearance anxiety.
The study also established that there is a significant difference between the social appearance anxiety scores and the fear of negative evaluation scores in terms of income levels of the folk dancers who were included in the study in favor of those who were from medium income levels (Table 5-6). In other words, as the income level increases, the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety decrease.
When the relevant literature was reviewed, it was observed that there are different results about the income level variable. For example, according to the results of the study conducted by Kılıç (2015), there were no significant differences between the social appearance anxiety levels of the students and the amount of money they spent in one month. However, Alemdağ (2013) determined that as the income levels of the students increased, their social appearance anxiety decreased.
According to the findings, as the status, population and surface area of the residential areas of the folk dancers who were included in the study increased, the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety scores decreased at a significant level (Table 7-8). It was also determined in the present study that the residential area of the participants played a significant role in the decrease of the fear and anxiety levels of the participants.
Especially in studies that are conducted on students, it is supported that the residential area is an important factor in anxiety status. Alemdağ (2013) found that the students who lived in areas with higher development levels had less social appearance anxiety. Yüceant (2013) and Kılıç (2015) conducted a study and reported that the university students who lived in metropolitan cities had less social appearance anxiety when compared with others. These results support the findings obtained in the present study. This situation shows that the folk dancers living in areas that have high development levels have less social appearance anxiety.
According to the findings obtained in the study, the folk dancers who have 1-2 years and 3-4 years experience have higher fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety scores at significant levels when compared with those who had 7 years and over years of experience (Table 9-10). In other words, as the experience levels of the dancers increase, the anxiety and fear scores decrease. The study revealed that the experience variable is an important factor in this respect.
No matter in which culture they live, humans generally experience anxiety in situations when they have to show a certain performance in front of an audience or when the attention is focused on them (Alkan, 2015). Sports psychologists and relevant authors have mentioned that competition anxiety and sportive performance anxiety affect the physical anxiety related with physical appearance evaluations (Leary & Kowalski, 1997). Hausenblas et al. (2004) indicated to the existence of a negative relation between social physical anxiety and exercise behavior and the perceived physical talent. These determinations show that the results of the present study are consistent with the literature findings. However, various researchers emphasized that the fear and anxiety types that are defined differently, for example the anxiety about speaking in public, the anxiety for stage and audience, physical anxiety or exam anxiety and similar different classifications were in fact related with the general anxiety experiences and levels of the individuals (Leary & Kowalski, 1997).
As a conclusion, according to the findings there are significant differences between the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety scores of the folk dancers in terms of gender, income status, experience in folk dances and the place where they spend most of their life. In addition, it was also seen that there is a positive and significant difference over medium level between the fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety scores.