Face masks versus sunglasses: limited effects of time and individual differences in the ability to judge facial identity and social traits.
Cogn Res Princ Implic
; 7(1): 18, 2022 02 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1714667
ABSTRACT
Some research indicates that face masks impair identification and other judgements such as trustworthiness. However, it is unclear whether those effects have abated over time as individuals adjust to widespread use of masks, or whether performance is related to individual differences in face recognition ability. This study examined the effect of masks and sunglasses on face matching and social judgements (trustworthiness, competence, attractiveness). In Experiment 1, 135 participants across three different time points (June 2020-July 2021) viewed unedited faces and faces with masks, sunglasses, or both. Both masks and sunglasses similarly decreased matching performance. The effect of masks on social judgements varied depending on the judgement and whether the face was depicted with sunglasses. There was no effect of timepoint on any measure, suggesting that the effects of masks have not diminished. In Experiment 2, 12 individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) and 10 super-recognisers (SRs) completed the same tasks. The effect of masks on identity matching was reduced in SRs, whereas the effects of masks and sunglasses for the DP group did not differ from controls. These findings indicate that face masks significantly affect face perception, depending on the availability of other facial information, and are not modified by exposure.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Facial Recognition
/
Masks
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Cogn Res Princ Implic
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41235-022-00371-z
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