With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic and the obligation to wear surgical face masks have affected social interactions. Wearing a mask can cause impairments in face identification, emotion recognition, and trait impressions. The present study investigated, during the COVID-19 period, age-related differences in perc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/3/195 |
| _version_ | 1827751287739908096 |
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| author | Adolfo Di Crosta Irene Ceccato Emanuela Bartolini Pasquale La Malva Matteo Gatti Eleonora D’Intino Loreta Cannito Anna Marin Riccardo Palumbo Nicola Mammarella Alberto Di Domenico Rocco Palumbo |
| author_facet | Adolfo Di Crosta Irene Ceccato Emanuela Bartolini Pasquale La Malva Matteo Gatti Eleonora D’Intino Loreta Cannito Anna Marin Riccardo Palumbo Nicola Mammarella Alberto Di Domenico Rocco Palumbo |
| author_sort | Adolfo Di Crosta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic and the obligation to wear surgical face masks have affected social interactions. Wearing a mask can cause impairments in face identification, emotion recognition, and trait impressions. The present study investigated, during the COVID-19 period, age-related differences in perceived trustworthiness (Study 1) and health (Study 2) when viewing faces with or without masks. Younger (YAs, 18–35 years) and older (OAs, over 65 years) adults’ ratings were compared. Through a web-based platform, a series of neutral younger and older faces (YFs vs. OFs) were presented, on a computer screen, with or without a mask (Mask vs. No-Mask), and participants were asked to rate them on a 7-point scale. Furthermore, data collected during the pandemic (Mask and No-Mask conditions) were compared with ratings obtained before it (Pre-COVID condition). Perceived trustworthiness was lower in the No-Mask condition for both age groups compared to Mask and Pre-COVID conditions, which did not differ. For health ratings, no differences emerged for OAs between the conditions, whereas YAs’ ratings were lower in both the Mask and No-Mask conditions compared to the Pre-COVID condition. The fear of contracting COVID-19 affected both trustworthiness and health ratings. Wearing a surgical face mask affects trait impressions for YAs and OAs, partly due to the fear of COVID-19. Trait impressions are also influenced by the age of the face to be evaluated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:55:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c000bfbf5224654945ed823de7de973 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:55:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c000bfbf5224654945ed823de7de9732023-11-17T09:37:23ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-02-0113319510.3390/bs13030195With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 PandemicAdolfo Di Crosta0Irene Ceccato1Emanuela Bartolini2Pasquale La Malva3Matteo Gatti4Eleonora D’Intino5Loreta Cannito6Anna Marin7Riccardo Palumbo8Nicola Mammarella9Alberto Di Domenico10Rocco Palumbo11Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyCenter for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USADepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyThe COVID-19 pandemic and the obligation to wear surgical face masks have affected social interactions. Wearing a mask can cause impairments in face identification, emotion recognition, and trait impressions. The present study investigated, during the COVID-19 period, age-related differences in perceived trustworthiness (Study 1) and health (Study 2) when viewing faces with or without masks. Younger (YAs, 18–35 years) and older (OAs, over 65 years) adults’ ratings were compared. Through a web-based platform, a series of neutral younger and older faces (YFs vs. OFs) were presented, on a computer screen, with or without a mask (Mask vs. No-Mask), and participants were asked to rate them on a 7-point scale. Furthermore, data collected during the pandemic (Mask and No-Mask conditions) were compared with ratings obtained before it (Pre-COVID condition). Perceived trustworthiness was lower in the No-Mask condition for both age groups compared to Mask and Pre-COVID conditions, which did not differ. For health ratings, no differences emerged for OAs between the conditions, whereas YAs’ ratings were lower in both the Mask and No-Mask conditions compared to the Pre-COVID condition. The fear of contracting COVID-19 affected both trustworthiness and health ratings. Wearing a surgical face mask affects trait impressions for YAs and OAs, partly due to the fear of COVID-19. Trait impressions are also influenced by the age of the face to be evaluated.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/3/195trusthealthface perceptioncoronavirusratingstrait impressions |
| spellingShingle | Adolfo Di Crosta Irene Ceccato Emanuela Bartolini Pasquale La Malva Matteo Gatti Eleonora D’Intino Loreta Cannito Anna Marin Riccardo Palumbo Nicola Mammarella Alberto Di Domenico Rocco Palumbo With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic Behavioral Sciences trust health face perception coronavirus ratings trait impressions |
| title | With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | With or without the Mask: Age Differences in Perceived Trustworthiness and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | with or without the mask age differences in perceived trustworthiness and health during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | trust health face perception coronavirus ratings trait impressions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/3/195 |
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