Abstract
Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks has become essential for social interaction, disturbing emotion recognition in daily life. In the present study, a total of 39 Korean participants (female = 20, mean age = 24.2 years) inferred seven emotions (happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, and neutral) from uncovered, mask-covered, sunglasses-covered faces. The recognition rates were the lowest under mask conditions, followed by the sunglasses and uncovered conditions. In identifying emotions, different emotion types were associated with different areas of the face. Specifically, the mouth was the most critical area for happiness, surprise, sadness, disgust, and anger recognition, but fear was most recognized from the eyes. By simultaneously comparing faces with different parts covered, we were able to more accurately examine the impact of different facial areas on emotion recognition. We discuss the potential cultural differences and the ways in which individuals can cope with communication in which facial expressions are paramount.
Highlights
Without doubt, we all have had trouble identifying emotional expressions from others in recent years when mask wearing became the norm
The results showed that there was a significant main effect of face condition, F(2, 76) = 147.34, p < .001, ηp2 = .80, with the highest recognition rate observed for the uncovered condition (M = .68, SD = .01), followed by the sunglasses (M = .64, SD = .01) and mask conditions (M = .51, SD = .01)
We set out to test whether facial occlusion in real-world settings such as occlusion with facial masks and sunglasses impairs recognition of emotions in a face, with a particular focus on the effects of mask wearing, which is still mandatory in many parts of the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
We all have had trouble identifying emotional expressions from others in recent years when mask wearing became the norm. In this COVID-19-era, we live in an environment where wearing masks is a necessity in our daily lives. We often encounter faces that are only partially exposed, impairing our daily social interactions due to our diminished ability to recognize facial expressions and their associated emotions. The two key areas of the face that are important for reading facial expressions are the mouth and eyes [1,2,3,4]. There have been debates about which is more important, either the eyes or the mouth, in recognizing facial expressions. Emotion type is considered to play a critical role in determining the key facial areas for reading emotions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call