The Influence of Face Masks on Micro-Expression Recognition

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Facial Expression Recognition

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread mask usage, impacting social interactions.
• Understanding how masks affect non-verbal communication, specifically micro-expression recognition, is crucial.
• Facial perception and emotional processing are complex and influenced by various visual cues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of mask attributes on micro-expression recognition accuracy and reaction time.
• To assess how background emotional context influences micro-expression recognition while wearing masks.
• To examine the effect of mask types on perceived facial favorability.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed a micro-expression recognition task under varying mask conditions and background emotions.
• Data collected included accuracy (ACC) and reaction time (RT) for micro-expression identification.
• Facial favorability ratings were analyzed in conjunction with mask attributes and emotional contexts.

Main Results:

• Fearful background emotions significantly impaired micro-expression recognition accuracy and increased reaction time.
• Opaque masks increased reaction time but minimally affected recognition accuracy; transparent and non-patterned masks enhanced facial favorability.
• A significant interaction was observed: negative backgrounds exacerbated mask-related deficits in recognition speed and favorability, while positive backgrounds mitigated them.

Conclusions:

• Masks, particularly opaque ones, can impede the speed of micro-expression recognition, especially in emotionally negative contexts.
• Mask design (transparency, patterns) influences facial favorability, with potential to mitigate negative impacts.
• Future research should consider mask attributes and emotional context for a comprehensive understanding of facial communication.