This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Article
Wearing N95, Surgical and Cloth Face Masks Compromises the Communication of Emotion
Andrew Langbehn
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8986-2165
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
According to the familiar axiom, the eyes are the window to the soul. However, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 involves occluding a large portion of the face. Do the eyes carry all of the information we need to perceive each other’s emotions? We addressed this question in two studies. In the first, 162 Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers saw videos of human faces displaying expressions of happiness, disgust, anger, and surprise that were fully visible or covered by N95, surgical, or cloth masks and rated the extent to which the expressions conveyed each of the four emotions. Across mask conditions, participants perceived significantly lower levels of the expressed (target) emotion and this was particularly true for expressions composed of greater facial action in the lower part of the faces. Furthermore, higher levels of other (non-target) emotions were perceived in masked compared to visible faces. In the second study, 60 MTurk workers rated the extent to which three types of smiles (reward, affiliation, and dominance smiles), either visible or masked, conveyed positive feelings, reassurance, and superiority. They reported that masked smiles communicated less of the target signal than visible faces, but not more of other possible signals. Political attitudes were not systematically associated with disruptions in the processing of facial expression caused by masking the face.
Keywords
Emotional Conveyance, Facial Action, Face Masking, Smile Types
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the latest manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
- MaskedFacesS1.docx
Supplementary Information
Daniel Fiset
commented on 29 December, 2020
It seems to me that the results obtained using the Bubbles method (Gosselin & Schyns, 2002) can easily be extrapolated to this specific situation and predict your results. For example : Blais, C., Roy, C., Fiset, D., Arguin, M., & Gosselin, F. (2012). The eyes are not the window to basic emotions. Neuropsychologia, 50(12), 2830-2838.
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 23 Dec, 2020
Community comments: 1
Metrics
Comments: 1
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Psychology
Learn more about our company.
This is a preprint. It has not completed peer review.
Article
Wearing N95, Surgical and Cloth Face Masks Compromises the Communication of Emotion
Andrew Langbehn
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8986-2165
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 23 Dec, 2020
Community comments: 1
Metrics
Comments: 1
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Psychology
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
According to the familiar axiom, the eyes are the window to the soul. However, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 involves occluding a large portion of the face. Do the eyes carry all of the information we need to perceive each other’s emotions? We addressed this question in two studies. In the first, 162 Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers saw videos of human faces displaying expressions of happiness, disgust, anger, and surprise that were fully visible or covered by N95, surgical, or cloth masks and rated the extent to which the expressions conveyed each of the four emotions. Across mask conditions, participants perceived significantly lower levels of the expressed (target) emotion and this was particularly true for expressions composed of greater facial action in the lower part of the faces. Furthermore, higher levels of other (non-target) emotions were perceived in masked compared to visible faces. In the second study, 60 MTurk workers rated the extent to which three types of smiles (reward, affiliation, and dominance smiles), either visible or masked, conveyed positive feelings, reassurance, and superiority. They reported that masked smiles communicated less of the target signal than visible faces, but not more of other possible signals. Political attitudes were not systematically associated with disruptions in the processing of facial expression caused by masking the face.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the latest manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.
Daniel Fiset
commented on 29 December, 2020
It seems to me that the results obtained using the Bubbles method (Gosselin & Schyns, 2002) can easily be extrapolated to this specific situation and predict your results. For example : Blais, C., Roy, C., Fiset, D., Arguin, M., & Gosselin, F. (2012). The eyes are not the window to basic emotions. Neuropsychologia, 50(12), 2830-2838.