TY - JOUR
T1 - Recognition of Masked Faces in the Era of the Pandemic
T2 - No Improvement Despite Extensive Natural Exposure
AU - Freud, Erez
AU - Di Giammarino, Daniela
AU - Stajduhar, Andreja
AU - Rosenbaum, R. Shayna
AU - Avidan, Galia
AU - Ganel, Tzvi
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/10/1
Y1 - 2022/10/1
N2 - Face masks, which became prevalent across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, have had a negative impact on face recognition despite the availability of critical information from uncovered face parts, especially the eyes. An outstanding question is whether face-mask effects would be attenuated following extended natural exposure. This question also pertains, more generally, to face-recognition training protocols. We used the Cambridge Face Memory Test in a cross-sectional study (N = 1,732 adults) at six different time points over a 20-month period, alongside a 12-month longitudinal study (N = 208). The results of the experiments revealed persistent deficits in recognition of masked faces and no sign of improvement across time points. Additional experiments verified that the amount of individual experience with masked faces was not correlated with the mask effect. These findings provide compelling evidence that the face-processing system does not easily adapt to visual changes in face stimuli, even following prolonged real-life exposure.
AB - Face masks, which became prevalent across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, have had a negative impact on face recognition despite the availability of critical information from uncovered face parts, especially the eyes. An outstanding question is whether face-mask effects would be attenuated following extended natural exposure. This question also pertains, more generally, to face-recognition training protocols. We used the Cambridge Face Memory Test in a cross-sectional study (N = 1,732 adults) at six different time points over a 20-month period, alongside a 12-month longitudinal study (N = 208). The results of the experiments revealed persistent deficits in recognition of masked faces and no sign of improvement across time points. Additional experiments verified that the amount of individual experience with masked faces was not correlated with the mask effect. These findings provide compelling evidence that the face-processing system does not easily adapt to visual changes in face stimuli, even following prolonged real-life exposure.
KW - COVID-19
KW - face perception
KW - holistic processing
KW - inversion effect
KW - learning and training
KW - open data
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138286897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221105459
DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221105459
M3 - Article
C2 - 36219574
SN - 0956-7976
VL - 33
SP - 1635
EP - 1650
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
IS - 10
ER -