Open Access

Miriam Biermann, Anna Schulze, Ruben Vonderlin, Martin Bohus, Lisa Lyssenko, Stefanie Lis

• Background A markedly negative self-image and pervasive shame proneness have consistently been associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The present experimental study investigated the intensity of negative emotional responses with a focus on shame in BPD compared to healthy control persons (HCs) during an experimental paradigm promoting self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. Furthermore, the relationship between levels of state shame during the experiment and shame proneness in BPD compared to HCs was examined. Methods A sample of 62 individuals with BPD and 47 HCs participated in the study. During the experimental paradigm, participants were presented with photos of (i) the own face, (ii) the face of a well-known person, and (iii) of an unknown person. They were asked to describe positive facets of these faces. Participants rated the intensity of negative emotions induced by the experimental task as well the pleasantness of the presented faces. Shame-proneness was assessed using the Test of the Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA-3). Results Individuals with BPD experienced significantly higher levels of negative emotions than HCs both before and during the experimental task. While HC participants responded to their own face particularly with an increase in shame compared to the other-referential condition, the BPD patients responded above all with a strong increase of disgust. Furthermore, the confrontation with an unknown or well-known face resulted in a strong increase of envy in BPD compared to HC. Individuals with BPD reported higher levels of shame-proneness than HCs. Higher levels of shame-proneness were related to higher levels of state shame during the experiment across all participants. Conclusion Our study is the first experimental study on negative emotional responses and its relationship to shame proneness in BPD compared to HC using the own face as a cue promoting self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. Our data confirm a prominent role of shame when describing positive features of the own face, but they emphasize also disgust and envy as distinct emotional experience characterizing individuals with BPD when being confronted with the self.