Personality Traits as Predictors of Fear of Negative Evaluation Among Undergraduates

Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) is a point of concern, with increasing awareness in the Nigerian education system, as it is often linked to various negative outcomes such as decline in academic performance and in extreme cases, suicide, indicating a necessity for interventions specifically designed at factors which may be associated with FNE among students. A total of 348 undergraduates (181 males and 152 females with a mean age of 23.29 + 6.81) at the University of Ibadan constituted the sample, cutting across 8 randomly selected faculties out of a total 16 faculties in the University. Students were approached using accidental sampling technique, and copies of the questionnaire were distributed and retrieved for data analysis. Using Multiple Regression analysis to test one central hypothesis, the results indicated that despite personality traits collectively predicting FNE, only Conscientiousness and Agreeableness significantly predicted FNE among the participants. Higher amount of Conscientiousness predicted lower FNE, whereas higher amount of Agreeableness predicted higher FNE. It was recommended that students take up training on skills related to conscientiousness, including goal setting, organization, attention to detail and that students should also be encouraged to be assertive, as they may not always rely on the opinions of others and may need to pursue personal goals over maintaining cooperation.