PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
UNASSIGNED: The widespread use of surgical masks during the COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges in interpreting facial emotions. As the mouth is known to play a crucial role in decoding emotional expressions, its covering is likely to affect this process. Recent evidence suggests that facial expressions impact behavioral responses only when their emotional content is relevant to subjects\' goals. Thus, this study investigates whether and how masked emotional faces alter such a phenomenon.
UNASSIGNED: Forty participants completed two reaching versions of the Go/No-go task in a counterbalanced fashion. In the Emotional Discrimination Task (EDT), participants were required to respond to angry, fearful, or happy expressions by performing a reaching movement and withholding it when a neutral face was presented. In the Gender Discrimination Task (GDT), the same images were shown, but participants had to respond according to the poser\'s gender. The face stimuli were presented in two conditions: covered by a surgical mask (masked) or without any covering (unmasked).
UNASSIGNED: Consistent with previous studies, valence influenced behavioral control in the EDT but not in the GDT. Nevertheless, responses to facial emotions in the EDT exhibited significant differences between unmasked and masked conditions. In the former, angry expressions led to a slowdown in participants\' responses. Conversely, in the masked condition, behavioral reactions were impacted by fearful and, to a greater extent, by happy expressions. Responses to fearful faces were slower, and those to happy faces exhibited increased variability in the masked condition compared to the unmasked condition. Furthermore, response accuracy to masked happy faces dramatically declined compared to the unmasked condition and other masked emotions.
UNASSIGNED: In sum, our findings indicate that surgical masks disrupt reactions to emotional expressions, leading people to react less accurately and with heightened variability to happy expressions, provided that the emotional dimension is relevant to people\'s goals.
UNASSIGNED: Forty participants completed two reaching versions of the Go/No-go task in a counterbalanced fashion. In the Emotional Discrimination Task (EDT), participants were required to respond to angry, fearful, or happy expressions by performing a reaching movement and withholding it when a neutral face was presented. In the Gender Discrimination Task (GDT), the same images were shown, but participants had to respond according to the poser\'s gender. The face stimuli were presented in two conditions: covered by a surgical mask (masked) or without any covering (unmasked).
UNASSIGNED: Consistent with previous studies, valence influenced behavioral control in the EDT but not in the GDT. Nevertheless, responses to facial emotions in the EDT exhibited significant differences between unmasked and masked conditions. In the former, angry expressions led to a slowdown in participants\' responses. Conversely, in the masked condition, behavioral reactions were impacted by fearful and, to a greater extent, by happy expressions. Responses to fearful faces were slower, and those to happy faces exhibited increased variability in the masked condition compared to the unmasked condition. Furthermore, response accuracy to masked happy faces dramatically declined compared to the unmasked condition and other masked emotions.
UNASSIGNED: In sum, our findings indicate that surgical masks disrupt reactions to emotional expressions, leading people to react less accurately and with heightened variability to happy expressions, provided that the emotional dimension is relevant to people\'s goals.
摘要：
■在COVID-19大流行期间，外科口罩的广泛使用给解读面部情绪带来了挑战。众所周知，嘴巴在解码情绪表达中起着至关重要的作用，它的覆盖可能会影响这个过程。最近的证据表明，只有当他们的情绪内容与受试者的目标相关时，面部表情才会影响行为反应。因此，这项研究调查了蒙面的情绪面孔是否以及如何改变这种现象。
■40位参与者以平衡的方式完成了Go/No-go任务的两个到达版本。在情感歧视任务(EDT)中，参与者被要求对愤怒做出回应，恐惧,或通过进行伸手动作并在出现中性面孔时保留它来表达快乐的表情。在性别歧视任务（GDT）中，显示了相同的图像，但参与者必须根据装腔作势者的性别做出回应。面部刺激在两种情况下呈现:被外科面罩覆盖(掩蔽)或没有任何覆盖物(未掩蔽)。
■与以前的研究一致，效价影响EDT中的行为控制，但不影响GDT中的行为控制。然而，在EDT中对面部情绪的反应在未掩盖和掩盖条件之间表现出显着差异。在前者中,愤怒的表情导致参与者的反应放缓。相反，在蒙面条件下，行为反应受到恐惧和影响，在更大程度上,快乐的表情。对恐惧面孔的反应较慢，与未掩盖的情况相比，那些笑脸的人在被掩盖的情况下表现出更大的变异性。此外，与未掩盖的情况和其他掩盖的情绪相比，对掩盖的快乐面孔的反应准确性急剧下降。
■总之，我们的发现表明，外科口罩会破坏对情绪表达的反应，导致人们对快乐表情的反应不那么准确，可变性增强，前提是情感维度与人们的目标相关。
■40位参与者以平衡的方式完成了Go/No-go任务的两个到达版本。在情感歧视任务(EDT)中，参与者被要求对愤怒做出回应，恐惧,或通过进行伸手动作并在出现中性面孔时保留它来表达快乐的表情。在性别歧视任务（GDT）中，显示了相同的图像，但参与者必须根据装腔作势者的性别做出回应。面部刺激在两种情况下呈现:被外科面罩覆盖(掩蔽)或没有任何覆盖物(未掩蔽)。
■与以前的研究一致，效价影响EDT中的行为控制，但不影响GDT中的行为控制。然而，在EDT中对面部情绪的反应在未掩盖和掩盖条件之间表现出显着差异。在前者中,愤怒的表情导致参与者的反应放缓。相反，在蒙面条件下，行为反应受到恐惧和影响，在更大程度上,快乐的表情。对恐惧面孔的反应较慢，与未掩盖的情况相比，那些笑脸的人在被掩盖的情况下表现出更大的变异性。此外，与未掩盖的情况和其他掩盖的情绪相比，对掩盖的快乐面孔的反应准确性急剧下降。
■总之，我们的发现表明，外科口罩会破坏对情绪表达的反应，导致人们对快乐表情的反应不那么准确，可变性增强，前提是情感维度与人们的目标相关。
