Wearing N95, Surgical, and Cloth Face Masks Compromises the Perception of Emotion.

ABSTRACT: According to the familiar axiom, the eyes are the window to the soul. However, wearing masks to prevent the spread of viruses such as COVID-19 involves obscuring a large portion of the face. Do the eyes carry sufficient information to allow for the accurate perception of emotions in dynamic expressions obscured by masks? What about the perception of the meanings of specific smiles? We addressed these questions in two studies. In the first, participants saw dynamic expressions of happiness, disgust, anger, and surprise that were covered by N95, surgical, or cloth masks or were uncovered and rated the extent to which the expressions conveyed each of the same four emotions. Across conditions, participants perceived significantly lower levels of the expressed (target) emotion in masked faces,

SUBMITTER: Langbehn AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8790014 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature