マスクの着用が高社交不安者のコミュニケーションに及ぼす影響

――コロナ禍前の検討――

抄録

Individuals with high social anxiety often fear that others will notice signs of anxiety via their facial expressions and evaluate them negatively. The current study examined the effects of wearing a mask that hides most of the face on interpersonal communication among people with high social anxiety. In a laboratory experiment, 58 participants rated their level of social anxiety. Subsequently, participants engaged in a 5-minute conversation with a partner with or without a mask, and rated their own communication. Coders then coded each participant's behavior during the conversation. The results revealed that participants in the high social anxiety group expressed more communicative behaviors and rated their own communication more positively when wearing a mask than when not wearing a mask. The possibility that wearing a mask may promote smooth communication in people with high social anxiety is discussed.