What is Code Review Anxiety?

Code review anxiety is characterized by a fear of judgment, criticism, and negative evaluation while giving or receiving code reviews. Put simply, it’s any stress or anxiety you feel about code reviews. [1]

If you experience code review anxiety, know that you are not alone. Code review anxiety has been widely acknowledged in the industry as a common experience!

From a psychological perspective, this makes sense because code reviews and other interactive peer evaluations of our performance quite naturally trigger our social anxiety. Social anxiety, which refers to stress or anxiety during social or performance situations more broadly, is something we ALL experience – particularly when we feel othered due to holding a minoritized identity, are new to a team or organization, or are new to a project or codebase. You might notice that you’re more likely to experience code review anxiety during these moments, and again, that’s totally normal

It’s important to note that ANY developer can experience code review anxiety. Our research found that developers at all experience levels experienced code review anxiety. In fact, participants in our study reported that they had between 1 and 65 years of coding experience. This means that code review anxiety is neither a “junior developer thing” nor indicative of less coding experience, so if you are an experienced developer who experiences code review anxiety, know that there isn’t something “wrong” with you. Again, you are not alone. [1]

So, code review anxiety is normal. And yet, just because something is common or normal, it doesn’t mean it still can’t be a blocker or get in the way. For example, it might negatively impact our wellbeing, career growth, or ability to get work done effectively and efficiently.

Grab something to write with or open a text editor, and take a moment to reflect on how code review anxiety has negatively impacted you throughout your career.