PhD Scientific Days 2022

Mental Health Sciences II. (Poster discussion will take place in the Aula during the Coffee Break)

Social Value Orientation in Borderline Personality Disorder

Text of the abstract

Introduction:
In borderline personality disorder (BPD), interpersonal problems are apparent, and poor mentalization skills serve as a base for this problem. Previous research has shown that patients with BPD have a tendency to misinterpret others’ intentions, thoughts, and emotions, this can lead to difficulties in social situations that require cooperation.
Aims:
Our research examined the basic social intentions (social value orientation, SVO) in BPD, whether they are prone to prosocial behavior and we also examined their expectations about other people’s motives.
Methods:
We used the Slider Measure of Social Value Orientation, and we also modified the measure to examine participants' expectations about others’ motives. We examined 30 participants with BPD and 30 control subjects. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of sex, age, and education.
Result:
Both groups had prosocial tendencies, however, the BPD group expected significantly more selfish attitude from the other person (U = 269, p = .007).
Conclusion:
Our result is another example of the negativity bias that characterizes the perception of people with BPD. This negativity bias can restrain cooperative behavior in BPD, and undermine the basic prosocial attitude that they otherwise possess.
Funding:
The research was supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Fund [NKFI K 132546].