ArticleScientific reports2022
Face masks reduce interpersonal distance in virtual reality.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of face-covering use on adherence to other COVID-19 protective behaviours: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Cultural and relational factors in interpersonal distance regulation: evidence from a 2D screen-based task in Spain, Italy, and Japan.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- From Mandate to Choice: How Voluntary Mask Wearing Shapes Interpersonal Distance Among University Students After COVID-19.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Airborne SARS-CoV2 virus exposure, interpersonal distance, face mask and perceived risk of infection.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Perceived interpersonal distance changes in young Taiwanese pre and post SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Perceived Interpersonal Distances: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Young Taiwanese and Young Southeast Asians during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- People interact closer when a face mask is worn but risk compensation is at best partial.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Effects of Target Variables on Interpersonal Distance Perception for Young Taiwanese during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- During the COVID-19 pandemic participants prefer settings with a face mask, no interaction and at a closer distance.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Assessing Interpersonal Proximity Evaluation in the COVID-19 Era: Evidence From the Affective Priming Task.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Face masks have a limited effect on the feeling of being looked at.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- The influence of face mask on social spaces depends on the behavioral immune system.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic several behavioral measures have been implemented to reduce viral transmission. While these measures reduce the risk of infections, they may also increase risk behavior. Here, we experimentally investigate the influence of face masks on physical distancing. Eighty-four participants with or without face masks passed virtual agents in a supermarket environment to reach a target while interpersonal distance was recorded. Agents differed in wearing face masks and age (young, elderly). In addition, situational constraints varied in whether keeping a distance of 1.5 m required an effortful detour or not. Wearing face masks (both self and other) reduced physical distancing. This reduction was most prominent when keeping the recommended distance was effortful, suggesting an influence of situational constraints. Similarly, increased distances to elderly were only observed when keeping a recommended distance was effortless. These findings highlight contextual constraints in compensation behavior and have important implications for safety policies.
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