Being able to express one’s feelings freely is beneficial for health. In East Asian societies where people often communicate in an indirect and restrained manner, undergraduate students usually attempt to live up to the viewpoints and expectations of the outside world. The more they care about others’ feelings and thoughts, the more they exhibit ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE). This may involve emotional rumination, which refers to overthinking the consequences of one’s emotional expression and associated emotional suppression of a person who is consciously managing to control their emotional experience to avoid it being detected. AEE also reflects fear of others’ evaluation (FOE), which leads to the adoption of impression management whereby an individual reduces their self-expression to hide their emotions in order to insulate themselves against criticism or any possible situation of being evaluated. FOE may hinder interpersonal and social interactions because of its effect on a person’s cognitive patterns. For example, fear of negative evaluation causes the avoidance of contact with others and a decrease in self-expressive acts when a person believes themselves to be unpopular and that they will be judged negatively. Fear of positive evaluation results in attempts to not attract attention to avoid involvement in conflict because of concern that exceptional behavior invites problems.

In contrast to AEE, which causes a person to sacrifice the chance to voice their inner emotional experience due to an overemphasis on relationships meeting outside expectations, self-compassion (SC) is an effective emotional management method. It improves cognitive reappraisal skills and thus indirectly lessens the effects of AEE and consists of three pairs of opposing constructs: 1) self-kindness and self-judgment, 2) common humanity and isolation, and 3) mindfulness and overidentification. A person with SC skills is able to sense their feelings, confront painful emotions, and express thoughts in a realistic manner.

Regarding sex differences in the aforementioned variables, no consistent results have been found due to the different relationships and situations that are studied. Further, when compared with results from other countries, the levels of fear of positive and negative evaluations among Taiwanese undergraduate students are relatively high; they also have lower levels of SC compared with undergraduates in Thailand and the United States (Neff et al., 2008). This background led us to pose the following questions: 1) What is the current situation regarding FOE, AEE, and SC in undergraduate students in Taiwan? 2) Is there any difference between undergraduate students of different sexes in terms of FOE, AEE, and SC? 3) What is the relationship between FOE, AEE, and SC in undergraduate students? 4) Can FOE and SC levels in undergraduate students effectively predict their AEE level? 5) Does SC in undergraduate students have a moderating effect on the prediction of their AEE level based on their FOE level?

This study focused on undergraduate students in Taiwan and was based on data collected from 470 students (111 male and 359 female students) who completed reliable and empirically applicable Chinese versions of the following scales online: the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (Cronbach’s α = .90; Chiu, 2009), Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (Cronbach’s α = .82; Chiu, 2009), an AEE scale (Cronbach’s α = .90; Chung, 2013), and an SC scale (Lai & Su, 2015).

The methods of statistical analysis and verification adopted in the study were as follows. 1) Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of Taiwanese undergraduate students’ FOE, AEE, and SC. 2) A t test for differences between means was adopted to verify the sex variable in all scales. 3) A correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the associations between variables. 4) Regressions were used to verify the prediction and moderation proposed in this study: stepwise regression was used to examine whether the independent variable (FOE) and moderator (SC) would exhibit significant predictive strength for the dependent variable (AEE), and hierarchical regression was used to examine whether the interaction between the fears of positive and negative evaluations and SC would exhibit significant predictive strength for the dependent variable (AEE).

The statistical results demonstrated that 1) the fear of negative evaluation, AEE, and SC in undergraduate students exhibited a medium-to-high level of association and that female students had greater fear of negative evaluation; however, no significant difference between sexes was evident for AEE levels. 2) FOE and AEE levels in undergraduate students exhibited a significant positive correlation with each other and a significant negative correlation with SC. 3) In the regression model, FOE and SC positively and negatively, respectively, predicted AEE with a total explanation of 45%, but SC had no moderating effect on the prediction of AEE based on FOE. 4) Both positive and negative SC levels exhibited a moderating effect on the prediction of emotional rumination by fear of positive evaluation. In light of the foregoing findings, SC levels may be a critical factor in distinguishing emotional rumination from emotional suppression, and it also indirectly explains the difference between AEE and emotional suppression. Higher negative SC levels moderated the effect of positive FOE on emotional rumination. Students with high negative SC levels may feel fearful in the face of positive evaluation, which leads to inconsistency in emotional expression and thinking. These students then experience greater negative emotions due to self-criticism, feeling isolated in difficult situations, and overidentifying with their own circumstances. Therefore, negative SC levels have the primary effect of enhancing emotional rumination, but their interaction with fear of positive evaluation shifts the individual’s focus to self-criticism and identification with their situation. Simultaneously, the effect of positive FOE on emotional rumination varies with the SC level. If SC levels are high, positive FOE levels intensify the effect on emotional rumination, which reflects the complex adjustment process of self-acceptance.

Although AEE and FOE are considered manifestations of consideration for others, undergraduate students’ fear of other people’s evaluation is actually related to rumination and the suppression of emotions, which demonstrates that interpersonal relationships cause students to repress their emotions. Therefore, both are important for students to identify and adopt the evaluations of others, also to appropriately express their emotions in relationships. This study provides conclusions and suggestions for counseling practice: 1) Female students may experience psychological stress because they are particularly fearful of negative evaluation, which is consistent with the findings of other studies. 2) AEE and FOE can be addressed using corrective experiences, assessing the effect of interpersonal evaluation on students’ emotional expression, and then discussing their concerns and instructing them in how to address difficulties. 3) Students’ SC abilities and their subjective experience of positive evaluation can be improved by learning mindfulness skills through psychoeducation lectures, groups, and workshops. Teachers and counselors can help students become aware of changes in their emotions and patterns of rumination, especially when they receive positive feedback. Providing others´ perspectives may facilitate students´ better understanding of their own internal process of emotional turnaround. 4) A Chinese version of the FOE scale should be designed because of the influence of culture on the structures related to positive and negative FOE levels.