Dysfunctions of social-cognitive processes such as the recognition of emotions have been discussed to contribute to the severe impairments of interpersonal functioning in borderline personality disorder (BPD). By investigating how patients with BPD experience the intensity of different emotions in a facial expression and how confident they are in their own judgments, the current study aimed at identifying subtle alterations of emotion processing in BPD. Female patients with BPD (N = 36) and 36 healthy controls were presented with faces that displayed low-intense anger and happiness or ambiguous expressions of anger and happiness blends. Subjects were asked to rate (a) the intensity of anger and happiness in each facial expression and (b) their confidence in their judgments. Patients with BPD rated the intensity of happiness in happy faces lower than did controls, but did not differ in regard to the assessment of angry or ambiguous facial stimuli or the rating of anger. They reported lower confidence in their judgments, which was particularly pronounced for the assessment of happy facial expressions. The reduced rating of happiness was linked to higher state anger, whereas the reduced confidence in the assessment of happy faces was related to stronger feelings of loneliness and the expectation of social rejection. Our findings suggest alterations in the processing of positive social stimuli that affect both the experience of the emotional intensity and the confidence subjects experience during their assessment. The link to loneliness and social rejection sensitivity points to the necessity to target these alterations in psychotherapeutical interventions.
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