ArticlePloS one2021
Face masks reduce emotion-recognition accuracy and perceived closeness.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 123 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
123 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Child mask mandates for COVID-19: a systematic review.Archives of disease in childhood · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of briefly observing faces in opaque facial masks on emotion recognition and empathic concern.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2023Trial
- Mask wearing increases eye involvement during smiling: a facial EMG study.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Incomplete Faces Do but Masked Faces Do Not Affect Mind Perception.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- The interplay between social connection and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- No evidence for disruption of empathy and mentalizing by face coverage in multimodal settings.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Navigating the Unknown: Mental Pain, Uncertainty, and Self-Isolation in Bali and Java.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Influence of Face Masks on Micro-Expression Recognition.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring the Role of Foveal and Extrafoveal Processing in Emotion Recognition: A Gaze-Contingent Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impact of face masks on empathy and communication in head and neck cancer patients: a case-control study.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact of partial occlusion of the face on multisensory emotion perception: Comparison of pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic.PloS one · 2025Article
- Pupillary responses to masked and gaze-averted faces.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Inferring social signals from the eyes in male schizophrenia.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- 'The mirror of the soul?' Inferring sadness in the eyes.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Dimensions of Alexithymia and Identification of Emotions in Masked and Unmasked Faces.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The social factors behind the mask: contextual effects on trait impressions from faces wearing a face mask.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2024Article
- Article
- Recognizing and Looking at Masked Emotional Faces in Alexithymia.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- In masks we trust: explicit and implicit reactions to masked faces vary by political orientation.BMC psychology · 2024Article
63 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Face masks became the symbol of the global fight against the coronavirus. While face masks' medical benefits are clear, little is known about their psychological consequences. Drawing on theories of the social functions of emotions and rapid trait impressions, we tested hypotheses on face masks' effects on emotion-recognition accuracy and social judgments (perceived trustworthiness, likability, and closeness). Our preregistered study with 191 German adults revealed that face masks diminish people's ability to accurately categorize an emotion expression and make target persons appear less close. Exploratory analyses further revealed that face masks buffered the negative effect of negative (vs. non-negative) emotion expressions on perceptions of trustworthiness, likability, and closeness. Associating face masks with the coronavirus' dangers predicted higher perceptions of closeness for masked but not for unmasked faces. By highlighting face masks' effects on social functioning, our findings inform policymaking and point at contexts where alternatives to face masks are needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.