“…With the continuous mutation of the virus, protective measures such as facemask wearing are potentially here to stay (British Academy, 2021). Accordingly, research and theory concerning the psychological effects of facemask exposure (Biermann et al, 2021;Cartaud et al, 2020;Fitousi et al, 2021;Grundmann et al, 2021;Kastendieck et al, 2021;Klucarova, 2021;Parada-Fernández et al, 2022;Rosa et al, 2020;Wu, Liang, et al, 2021) and the associations attached to facemasks in general (Cheng et al, 2020;Huang et al, 2021;Ji, 2020;Timpka & Nyce, 2021) and to specific types (e.g., surgical) of facemasks (Goh et al, 2020;Klucarova, 2021;Mokdad, 2021;Perach, 2020;Tateo, 2020) are emerging. In this paper, we propose that exposure to facemasks with a cultural symbol that relates to solidarity can activate cultural values such as mutual trust and thereby increase interpersonal perceptions compatible with these values (Neville et al, 2021;Vail et al, 2012).…”