Influence of Degree of Communication on Recognition of Facial Expressions by Mask-wearing

Abstract

This study explored how mask-wearing influences the assessment of emotions through facial expressions and whether it differs depending on daily communication. A model was asked to express “smile” and “pain” with different degrees of expressiveness, and these facial photos and photos with mask-wearing were prepared. We prepared pairs of expressions with two different degrees of expressiveness, and the participants (n = 16) were asked to assess “which expression is more expressive.” The analysis was performed using Scheffe’s method of paired comparison (modified Haga method). The strength of recognition of expressions was 24.6％ for “smile” and 13.5％ for “pain” due to wearing a mask. When a participant (n = 9) was not acquainted with the model, the degrees of “smile” and “pain” decreased by 28.3％ and 14.6％, respectively. However, when the participant (n = 7) was acquainted with the model, they decreased less by 19.4％ and 12.3％, respectively, indicating that the influence of wearing a mask was reduced. A two-way analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the main effects of “smile” and “pain” with or without communication, and “smile” with wearing a mask, but no significant difference in interaction. These results showed a trend in the paired comparison method regarding the relationship between mask wearing and communication, but no relationship was observed in the two-way analysis of variance.