Incomplete Faces Do but Masked Faces Do Not Affect Mind Perception.

Abstract

The human face plays a critical role in how we perceive the minds of others. The current research across two studies explored whether face masks also impact mind perception, with the expectation that they lead to lower attributions of agency and experience to individuals, making them seem less mentally capable due to their association with reduced facial expression perception and impaired communication. In the first study, participants' ratings of masked and unmasked faces for agency and experience did not yield significant differences, suggesting that wearing a face mask does not affect the perception of the mind. To explore whether these findings applied when the lower face was cropped instead of masked, results of the second study showed that removing the lower face led to decreased agency ratings, but similar to the first study, there were no changes in experience ratings. Altogether, our results showed that wearing face masks does not reduce the perception of mental capacity. Moreover, female faces received higher ratings for both agency and experience compared to male faces. The complex relationship between face masks, gender, and mind perception warrants further exploration.