ArticleDevelopmental science2021
Infants recognize words spoken through opaque masks but not through clear masks.
Article in Developmental science, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- [Impact of wearing face masks in public to prevent infectious diseases on the psychosocial development in children and adolescents: a systematic review].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2021Pooled it
- Development of a Child Articulation Screening Test Within Digital Therapeutics: Delphi Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Annual Research Review: How did COVID-19 affect young children's language environment and language development? A scoping review.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Social inequalities in early childhood language development during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study with data from three consecutive school entry surveys in Germany.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- When less is not more: the effect of transparent masks on facial attractiveness judgment.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2023Article
- Hidden Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant development and maternal mental health in the first 2 years of life.Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies · 2023Article
- Editorial: Language development behind the mask.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Language acquisition in a post-pandemic context: the impact of measures against COVID-19 on early language development.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Effects of face masks on fairness in on-site personnel selection during a pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Impact of Using Facemasks on Literacy Learning: The Perception of Early Childhood Education Teachers.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2022Article
- Association of Child Masking With COVID-19-Related Closures in US Childcare Programs.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- The Recognition of Facial Expressions Under Surgical Masks: The Primacy of Anger.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Article
- Early Word Segmentation Behind the Mask.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Mask wearing in Japanese and French nursery schools: The perceived impact of masks on communication.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Classroom language during COVID-19: Associations between mask-wearing and objectively measured teacher and preschooler vocalizations.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Infants recognize words spoken through opaque masks but not through clear masks.Developmental science · 2021Article
- Keeping track of language: Can monolingual and bilingual infants associate a speaker with the language they speak?Infant and child developmentArticle
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 at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
COVID-19 has modified numerous aspects of children's social environments. Many children are now spoken to through a mask. There is little empirical evidence attesting to the effects of masked language input on language processing. In addition, not much is known about the effects of clear masks (i.e., transparent face shields) versus opaque masks on language comprehension in children. In the current study, 2-year-old infants were tested on their ability to recognize familiar spoken words in three conditions: words presented with no mask, words presented through a clear mask, and words presented through an opaque mask. Infants were able to recognize familiar words presented without a mask and when hearing words through opaque masks, but not when hearing words through clear masks. Findings suggest that the ability of infants to recover spoken language input through masks varies depending on the surface properties of the mask.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.