Mask-Wearing and Emotional Intensity Perceptions

Abstract

The widespread use of sanitary face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic renewed interest in facial emotion perception while wearing masks. Usage of face masks during this time were considered a nonpharmaceutical intervention to mitigate the spread of the virus. We examined whether wearing face masks affects the intensity of emotion perception and judgments of approachability while also considering the sex and age of the rater. Emerging adults (ages 18–25, M = 19.5, 16 men, 44 women, n = 60) and adults (ages 26–65, M = 44.8, 10 men, 31 women, n = 41) viewed photos of faces of a young adult man, middle-aged man, young adult woman, and a middle-aged woman, masked and unmasked, with happy, sad, neutral, and angry expressions. ANOVAs repeated onthe face mask and no face mask conditions showed significant reductions in emotion intensity for happy (p < .001, η2 = .22) and sad faces (p < .001, η2 = .35), no differences for angry faces (p = .16, η2 = .02), and the opposite (increased intensity) with neutral faces (p = .03, η2 = .02). Unmasked happy faces were rated as more approachable than masked happy faces. Unmasked angry faces were rated as less approachable than masked angry faces but only by emerging adults. No differences appeared for sad emotions. Neutral faces again showed an unexpected pattern, with masks increasing approachability.