The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces

Abstract The unprecedented efforts to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic introduce a new arena for human face recognition in which faces are partially occluded with masks. Here, we tested the extent to which face masks change the way faces are perceived. To this end, we evaluated face pro...

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Autores principales:	Erez Freud, Andreja Stajduhar, R. Shayna Rosenbaum, Galia Avidan, Tzvi Ganel
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d761cf7336e04b629cbb72ccd7c46c21
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d761cf7336e04b629cbb72ccd7c46c212021-12-02T13:57:01ZThe COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces10.1038/s41598-020-78986-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/d761cf7336e04b629cbb72ccd7c46c212020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78986-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The unprecedented efforts to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic introduce a new arena for human face recognition in which faces are partially occluded with masks. Here, we tested the extent to which face masks change the way faces are perceived. To this end, we evaluated face processing abilities for masked and unmasked faces in a large online sample of adult observers (n = 496) using an adapted version of the Cambridge Face Memory Test, a validated measure of face perception abilities in humans. As expected, a substantial decrease in performance was found for masked faces. Importantly, the inclusion of masks also led to a qualitative change in the way masked faces are perceived. In particular, holistic processing, the hallmark of face perception, was disrupted for faces with masks, as suggested by a reduced inversion effect. Similar changes were found whether masks were included during the study or the test phases of the experiment. Together, we provide novel evidence for quantitative and qualitative alterations in the processing of masked faces that could have significant effects on daily activities and social interactions.Erez FreudAndreja StajduharR. Shayna RosenbaumGalia AvidanTzvi GanelNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Erez Freud Andreja Stajduhar R. Shayna Rosenbaum Galia Avidan Tzvi Ganel The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
description	Abstract The unprecedented efforts to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic introduce a new arena for human face recognition in which faces are partially occluded with masks. Here, we tested the extent to which face masks change the way faces are perceived. To this end, we evaluated face processing abilities for masked and unmasked faces in a large online sample of adult observers (n = 496) using an adapted version of the Cambridge Face Memory Test, a validated measure of face perception abilities in humans. As expected, a substantial decrease in performance was found for masked faces. Importantly, the inclusion of masks also led to a qualitative change in the way masked faces are perceived. In particular, holistic processing, the hallmark of face perception, was disrupted for faces with masks, as suggested by a reduced inversion effect. Similar changes were found whether masks were included during the study or the test phases of the experiment. Together, we provide novel evidence for quantitative and qualitative alterations in the processing of masked faces that could have significant effects on daily activities and social interactions.
format	article
author	Erez Freud Andreja Stajduhar R. Shayna Rosenbaum Galia Avidan Tzvi Ganel
author_facet	Erez Freud Andreja Stajduhar R. Shayna Rosenbaum Galia Avidan Tzvi Ganel
author_sort	Erez Freud
title	The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
title_short	The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
title_full	The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
title_fullStr	The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
title_full_unstemmed	The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
title_sort	covid-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/d761cf7336e04b629cbb72ccd7c46c21
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The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces

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