The face behind the mask: The future of interpersonal interaction

Molnar-Szakacs, Istvan; Uddin, Lucina Q.; Heffernan, Mary Beth

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.05.030

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…We hypothesized that attractiveness ratings for masked faces would be relatively more positive for faces of the same race as the participant than for faces of a different race. Such an own-race advantage for masked faces could come about either because participants are better able to infer missing details from familiar faces ( Carragher and Hancock, 2020 ; Freud et al, 2020 ; Molnar-Szakacs et al, 2021 ) or because masks on own-race faces are seen as more similar to the participant and thus deserving of empathy ( Dudarev et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Attractiveness of Masked Faces Is Influenced by Race and Mask Attitudes

et al. 2022

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This study tests the influence of wearing a protective face mask on the perceived attractiveness of the wearer. Participants who identified as White, and who varied in their ideological stance toward mask wearing, rated the attractiveness of facial photographs. The photos varied in baseline attractiveness (low, medium, and high), race (White and Asian), and whether or not the face was wearing a protective mask. Attitudes regarding protective masks were measured after the rating task using a survey to identify participants as either pro- or anti-mask. The results showed that masked individuals of the same race were generally rated as more attractive than unmasked individuals, but that masked individuals of another race were rated as less attractive than unmasked individuals. Moreover, pro-mask participants rated masked individuals as generally more attractive than unmasked individuals, whereas anti-maskers rated masked individuals as less attractive. A control experiment, replicating the procedure but replacing the protective masks with a partially occluding notebook, showed that these effects were mask-specific. These results demonstrate that perceived attractiveness is affected by characteristics of the viewer (attitudes toward protective masks), their relationship to the target (same or different race), and by circumstances external to both (pandemic).

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Attractiveness of Masked Faces Is Influenced by Race and Mask Attitudes

et al. 2022

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“… [1] During the 2015 Ebola outbreak, HCPs utilized PPE portraits to humanize care and bridge communication gaps. [2] With increasing PPE portrait use during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we sought to summarize and critically evaluate the available evidence of PPE portraits on clinical care…”

Section: Dear Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Use of PPE portraits continues to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic despite a paucity of data examining its impact on patients and HCPs. [2] Overall, less than 250 participants were enrolled, including only 31 patients. The three studies included in this review are heterogeneous in design, of low to moderate quality, and are all at serious risk of bias.…”

Section: Dear Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal protective equipment portraits in the era of COVID-19

Hansen-Barkun

Kherad

Donovan

et al. 2022

European Journal of Internal Medicine

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“…A creative solution to mitigate social disconnection resulting from facial feature occlusion is the personal protective equipment (PPE) project (Molnar-Szakacs et al, 2021 ). This project started during the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak and was revised in Stanford.…”

Section: Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the considerable importance of intact face processing in social interaction, it is important to understand how face masks affect face recognition. A great deal of studies have been dedicated recently to understanding the impact of face masks on various aspects of social interaction and cognition (Carbon, 2020 ; Carragher and Hancock, 2020 ; Freud et al, 2020 ; Green et al, 2020 ; Spitzer, 2020 ; Carbon and Serrano, 2021 ; Gori et al, 2021 ; Grundmann et al, 2021 ; Kastendieck et al, 2021 ; Marler and Ditton, 2021 ; Molnar-Szakacs et al, 2021 ; Noyes et al, 2021 ; Stajduhar et al, 2021 ). Many of these studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of masks on the recognition of facial emotion and identity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Impact of Face Masks on the Processing of Facial Identity, Emotion, Age, and Gender

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new challenges for governments and individuals. Unprecedented efforts at reducing virus transmission launched a novel arena for human face recognition in which faces are partially occluded with masks. Previous studies have shown that masks decrease accuracy of face identity and emotion recognition. The current study focuses on the impact of masks on the speed of processing of these and other important social dimensions. Here we provide a systematic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 masks on facial identity, emotion, gender, and age. Four experiments (N = 116) were conducted in which participants categorized faces on a predefined dimension (e.g., emotion). Both speed and accuracy were measured. The results revealed that masks hindered the perception of virtually all tested facial dimensions (i.e., emotion, gender, age, and identity), interfering with normal speed and accuracy of categorization. We also found that the unwarranted effects of masks were not due to holistic processes, because the Face Inversion Effect (FIE) was generally not larger with unmasked compared with masked faces. Moreover, we found that the impact of masks is not automatic and that under some contexts observers can control at least part of their detrimental effects.

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The face behind the mask: The future of interpersonal interaction

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

The Attractiveness of Masked Faces Is Influenced by Race and Mask Attitudes

The Attractiveness of Masked Faces Is Influenced by Race and Mask Attitudes

Personal protective equipment portraits in the era of COVID-19

Understanding the Impact of Face Masks on the Processing of Facial Identity, Emotion, Age, and Gender

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