Wearing a face mask against Covid-19 results in a reduction of social distancing

Abstract

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, barrier gestures such as regular hand-washing, social distancing, and wearing a face mask are highly recommended. Critically, interpersonal distance (IPD) depends on the affective dimension of social interaction, which might be affected by the current Covid-19 context. In the present internet-based experimental study, we analyzed the preferred IPD of 457 French participants when facing human-like characters that were either wearing a face mask or displaying a neutral, happy or angry facial expression. Results showed that IPD was significantly reduced when characters were wearing a face mask, as they were perceived as more trustworthy compared to the other conditions. Importantly, IPD was even more reduced in participants infected with Covid-19 or living in low-risk areas, while it was not affected by the predicted health of the characters. These findings shed further light on the psychological factors that motivate IPD adjustments, in particular when facing a collective threat. They are also of crucial importance for policy makers as they reveal that despite the indisputable value of wearing a face mask in the current pandemic context, their use should be accompanied by an emphasis on social distancing to prevent detrimental health consequences.

Face masks reduce emotion-recognition accuracy and perceived closeness

“…In our initially planned analyses, we found that wearing a face mask (vs. not) by itself did not affect social judgments. This finding is inconsistent with the results of a recent study by Cartaud and colleagues [ 65 ] who found a positive effect of face masks (vs. no face masks) on perceived trustworthiness. Nonetheless, when controlling for the expressed emotion’s valence and mask-related associations, face masks (vs. no face masks) predicted lower perceptions of closeness.…”

“…Because face masks limit facial cues, people may compensate by approaching each other. Reductions in facial cues were shown to result in less physical distance between interaction partners [ 65 , 74 ]. Hence, governmental entities may want to actively encourage alternative ways of compensating for the loss of facial cues due to wearing a face mask like amplifying facial emotion expressions (especially in the eye region) or using body language and clear emotion-focused language.…”

A Bayesian approach to reveal the key role of mask wearing in modulating interpersonal distance during the COVID-19 outbreak

“…We also found strong evidence that interacting with someone who was wearing protective equipment was associated with reduced IPD. This result is consistent with the findings of other studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic that used different methodologies (Cartaud et al, 2020;Iachini et al, 2020). Specifically, Iachini and colleagues (Iachini et al, 2020) used an 8-point Likert scale (ranging from 1= 0.5 m to 8 = 4 m) and found that the comfort-distance from others wearing a mask was shorter than the one from others without a mask.…”

“…Specifically, Iachini and colleagues (Iachini et al, 2020) used an 8-point Likert scale (ranging from 1= 0.5 m to 8 = 4 m) and found that the comfort-distance from others wearing a mask was shorter than the one from others without a mask. Cartaud and colleagues (Cartaud et al, 2020) used characters showing either positive, neutral, or negative facial expression or wearing a mask (which was always associated to a neutral facial expression). Characters were presented at different fixed distances from participants.…”

“…A limited body of research suggests that greater distances are kept when others are improperly perceived as contagious (i.e., people with AIDS) or as a threat to an individual's health (Mooney, Cohn, & Swift, 1992;Toppenberg, Bos, Ruiter, Wigboldus, & Pryor, 2015). Moreover, two studies conducted during the first COVID-19 outbreak (Cartaud, Quesque, & Coello, 2020;Iachini et al, 2020) showed that a smaller IPD was preferred when the other person was wearing a mask. One possible interpretation is that the sight of a person wearing a face mask triggers a feeling of safety.…”