Practice is the best master Shifting the interpretation bias and attention bias with an online training in borderline personality disorder.

Abstract

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is found to have two biases underlying emotional dysregulation. BPD patients are found to interpret ambiguous faces as expressing anger and to have the disability disengaging attention away from negative faces. The present study investigated whether both biases could be shifted through an online training. As the tool, developed with the aim to use it among BPD patients, is in its early stages of development the present research focused on healthy participants. With an Interpretation Bias Training (IBT) participants were trained to interpret ambiguous faces as happy by giving them tailored feedback. The Attention Bias Training (ABT) trained participants to focus attention on happy faces over angry faces. Analyses have shown that the online training tool is effective in shifting both biases into a more positive interpretation of faces and a faster attention towards happy faces over angry faces. As both biases were measured with independent assessments, results can be generalized to other facial stimuli. For the interpretation bias, this is only true for women. In addition, the tool was effective in reducing the attention towards angry faces for men high in borderline. At last, participants high in anxiety were faster in detecting angry faces in the pre- assessment compared to participants low in anxiety. As an extension, a usability research was conducted, which uncovered aspects on which the tool can be improved in order to meet all usability needs.