Do Masks Impact Emotion Recognition in Children?: The Role of Type of Emotion, Age and Parental Anxiety

Abstract

This study compared 60 preschoolers’ (47-74 month-olds) emotion recognition performance from masked vs. unmasked faces, and investigated whether the type of emotion, age of the person displaying the emotion, and parental health anxiety are linked with children’s emotion recognition scores. Children completed a computerized emotion recognition task, and parents filled out The Health Anxiety Inventory. Overall, children identified emotions better from unmasked vs. masked faces; however, from among happiness, anger, disgust, sadness and fear, the only difference emerged in recognition of sadness, as children identified sadness less accurately in masked than unmasked faces. Moreover, children were more accurate when reading emotions from adults’ than children’s masked faces, and their performance increased as a function of parents’ health anxiety. In general, these findings pointed to the negative impact of facial masks on emotion recognition and highlighted the critical role of children’s social experiences in reading others’ emotions.

Keywords

• Emotion Recognition
• Mask
• Pandemic
• Health Anxiety
• Preschool Period

Maske Çocuklarda Duygu Tanımayı Etkiler mi?: Duygunun Çeşidinin, Yaşın ve Ebeveyn Kaygısının Rolü

Abstract

Mevcut çalışma, 47-74 aylık 60 okul öncesi çocuğun maskeli yüzlerden duygu tanıma performanslarını maskesiz yüzlerden duygu tanıma performanslarıyla karşılaştırmış, ayrıca çocukların duygu tanıma performanslarını etkileyebilecek olan duygunun çeşidi, duyguyu sergileyen kişinin yaşı ve ebeveynlerin sağlık kaygıları gibi sosyal faktörlerin rolünü incelemiştir. Çocuklar duygu tanıma görevini tamamlamış, ebeveynler ise Sağlık Anksiyetesi Ölçeği’ni doldurmuşlardır. Çocuklar maskesiz yüzlerdeki duyguları maskeli yüzlerdeki duygulardan daha doğru tanımış; ancak mutluluk, öfke, tiksinme, üzüntü ve korku arasından yalnızca üzüntüyü maskeli yüzlerden maskesiz yüzlere kıyasla daha zor anlamışlardır. Çocuklar maskeli yetişkin yüzlerindeki duyguları maskeli çocuk yüzlerindeki duygulardan daha doğru anlamış, ebeveynlerin sağlık kaygısıyla çocukların maskeli yetişkinlerin duygularını doğru tanıma performansları arasında olumlu ilişki ortaya çıkmıştır. Sonuçlar çocukların duygu tanıma süreçlerinde maskenin yüzdeki ipuçlarını gizlediğini ve özellikle üzüntünün anlaşılmasını güçleştirdiğini göstermiştir. Çocukların maskeli yetişkinlerin duygularını maskeli çocuklarınkinden daha doğru tanımaları ve ebeveynlerinin sağlık kaygılarının maskeli yüzlerden duygu tanımayla ilişkisi sosyal deneyimler ve duygu tanıma becerilerinin bağlantılı olduğunu göstermiştir.

Keywords

• Duygu Tanıma
• Maske
• Pandemi
• Sağlık Kaygısı
• Okul Öncesi Dönem

References

1. ADOLPHS, R. (2002). Recognizing emotion from facial expressions: Psychological and neurological mechanisms. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 1(1), 21-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534582302001001003
2. AYDEMİR, Ö., KIRPINAR, I., SATI, T., UYKUR, B., & CENGİSİZ, C. (2013). Sağlık Anksiyetesi Ölçeği'nin Türkçe için güvenilirlik ve geçerlilik çalışması. Archives of Neuropsychiatry/Noropsikiatri Arsivi, 50(4). doi:10.4274/npa.y6383
3. BARRERA, M. E., & MAURER, D. (1981). The perception of facial expressions by the three month old. Child Development, 52, 203–206. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129231
4. BARRICK, E. M., THORTON, M. A., & TAMIR, D. I. (2021). Mask exposure during COVID-19 changes emotional face processing. Plos One, 16(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258470
5. BLAIR, R. J. R., & COLES, M. (2000). Expression recognition and behavioural problems in early adolescence. Cognitive Development, 15(4), 421-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(01)00039-9
6. BOUCHER, J. D., & EKMAN, P. (1975). Facial areas and emotional information. Journal of Communication, 25(2), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1975.tb00577.x
7. BOYATZIS, C. J., CHAZAN, E., & TING, C. Z. (1993). Preschool children's decoding of facial emotions. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 154(3), 375- 382. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1993.10532190
8. CARBON, C. C. (2020). Wearing face masks strongly confuses counterparts in reading emotions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566886

9. CASTRO, V. L., HALBERSTADT, A. G., LOZADA, F. T., & CRAIG, A. B. (2015). Parents' emotion‐related beliefs, behaviours, and skills predict children's recognition of emotion. Infant and Child Development, 24(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1868
10. DE HAAN, M., & NELSON, C. A. (1997). Recognition of the mother’s face by six-month-old infants: A neurobehavioral study. Child Development, 68(2), 187–210. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131845
11. DENHAM, S. A., BLAIR, K. A., DEMULDER, E., LEVITAS, J., SAWYER, K., AUERBACH-MAJOR, S., & QUEENAN, P. (2003). Preschool emotional competence: Pathway to social competence? Child Development, 74(1), 238–256. 10.1111/1467-8624.00533
12. DENHAM, S. A., BASSETT, H. H., & WYATT, T. (2015). The socialization of emotional competence. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 590–613). The Guilford Press.
13. DICKERSON, K. L. & QUAS, J. A. (2021). Emotional awareness, empathy, and generosity in high-risk youths. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 208, 105151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105151
14. EKERİM-AKBULUT, M., ŞEN, H. H., BEŞİROĞLU, B., & SELÇUK, B. (2020). The role of theory of mind, emotion knowledge and empathy in preschoolers’ disruptive behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(1), 128-143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01556-9
15. FISCHER, A. H., GILLEBAART, M., ROTTEVEEL, M., BECKER, D., & VLIEK, M. (2012). Veiled emotions: The effect of covered faces on emotion perception and attitudes. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(3), 266-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611418534
16. GAGNON, M., GOSSELIN, P., & MAASSARANI, R. (2014). Children’s ability to recognize emotions from partial and complete facial expressions. Journal Genetic Psychology, 175(5), 416–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2014.941322
17. GORI, M., SCHIATTI, L., & AMADEO, M. B. (2021). Masking emotions: Face masks ımpair how we read emotions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669432
18. GREENVILLE, E., & WYER, D. M. (2022). Face masks have emotion-dependent dissociable effects on accuracy and confidence in identifying facial expressions of emotion. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 7(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00366-w
19. GROSSMANN, T. (2010). The development of emotion perception in face and voice during infancy. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 28(2), 219–236. 10.3233/RNN-2010-0499
20. GUARNERA, M., HICHY, Z., CASCIO, M. I., & CARRUBBA, S. (2015). Facial expressions and ability to recognize emotions from eyes or mouth in children. Europe's journal of psychology, 11(2), 183-196. 10.5964/ejop.v11i2.890
21. GRUNDMANN, F., EPSTUDE, K., & SCHEIBE, S. (2021). Face masks reduce emotion-recognition accuracy and perceived closeness. Plos One 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249792
22. HILLS, P. J., & LEWIS, M. B. (2011). Rapid communication: The own-age face recognition bias in children and adults. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(1), 17-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2010.537926
23. HILLS, P. J. (2012). A developmental study of the own-age face recognition bias in children. Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026524
24. HOFFMAN, E. A., & HAXBY, J. V. (2000). Distinct representations of eye gaze and identity in the distributed human neural system for face perception. Nature Neuroscience, 3(1), 80-84. https://doi.org/10.1038/71152
25. JACOBS, R. H., PINE, D. S., SCHOENY, M. E., HENRY, D. B., GOLLAN, J. K., MOY, G., COOK, E. H., & WAKSCHLAG, L. S. (2011). Maternal depressive history, teen 5HTTLPR genotype, and the processing of emotional faces: Exploring mechanisms of risk. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(1), 80-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.10.004
26. JOHNSON, M. S., SKJERDINGSTAD, N., EBRAHIMI, O. V., HOFFART, A., & JOHNSON, S. U. (2021). Parenting in a Pandemic: Parental stress, anxiety and depression among parents during the government‐initiated physical distancing measures following the first wave of COVID‐19. Stress and Health. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3120
27. KASTENDIECK, T., ZILLMER, S., & HESS, U. (2021). (Un) mask yourself! Effects of face masks on facial mimicry and emotion perception during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cognition and Emotion, 36(1), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2021.1950639
28. KRET, M. E., & DE GELDER, B. (2012). Islamic headdress influences how emotion is recognized from the eyes. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00110
29. KUJAWA, A., DOUGHERTY, L. E. A., DURBIN, C. E., LAPTOOK, R., TORPEY, D., & KLEIN, D. N. (2014). Emotion recognition in preschool children: Associations with maternal depression and early parenting. Development and Psychopathology, 26(1), 159-170. doi:10.1017/s0954579413000928
30. MEYER, S., RAIKES, H. A., VIRMANI, E. A., WATERS, S., & THOMPSON, R. A. (2014). Parent emotion representations and the socialization of emotion regulation in the family. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38(2), 164-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025413519014
31. NEUBAUER, A. B., SCHMIDT, A., KRAMER, A. C., & SCHMIEDEK, F. (2021). A little autonomy support goes a long way: Daily autonomy‐supportive parenting, child well‐being, parental need fulfillment, and change in child, family, and parent adjustment across the adaptation to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Child Development, 92(5), 1679-1697. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13515
32. RHODES, M. G., & ANASTASI, J. S. (2012). The own-age bias in face recognition: a meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 138(1), 146-174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025750
33. RUBA, A. L., & POLLAK, S. D. (2020). Children’s emotion ınferences from masked faces: Implications for social ınteractions during COVID-19. Plos One, 15(12), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243708
34. SALKOVSKIS, P. M., RIMES, K. A., WARWICK, H. M. C., & CLARK, D. (2002). The Health Anxiety Inventory: Development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychological Medicine, 32(5), 843-853. doi:10.1017/S0033291702005822
35. SULLIVAN, L. A., & KIRKPATRICK, S. W. (1996). Facial interpretation and component consistency. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 122(4), 389-404. (doi numarası yok). Erişim adresi : https://europepmc.org/article/med/8976596
36. WALKER-ANDREWS, A. S. (1997). Infants’ perception of expressive behaviors: Differentiation of multimodal information. Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 437–456. 10.1037/0033-2909.121.3.437.
37. WIDEN, S. C., & RUSSELL, J. A. (2003). A closer look at preschoolers' freely produced labels for facial expressions. Developmental Psychology, 39(1), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.114
38. ZHEN, Z., FANG, H., & LIU, J. (2013). The hierarchical brain network for face recognition. Plos One, 8(3), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059886