During the COVID-19 pandemic participants prefer settings with a face mask, no interaction and at a closer distance

Abstract

Peripersonal space is the space surrounding our body, where multisensory integration of stimuli and action execution take place. The size of peripersonal space is flexible and subject to change by various personal and situational factors. The dynamic representation of our peripersonal space modulates our spatial behaviors towards other individuals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this spatial behavior was modified by two further factors: social distancing and wearing a face mask. Evidence from offline and online studies on the impact of a face mask on pro-social behavior is mixed. In an attempt to clarify the role of face masks as pro-social or anti-social signals, 235 observers participated in the present online study. They watched pictures of two models standing at three different distances from each other (50, 90 and 150 cm), who were either wearing a face mask or not and were either interacting by initiating a hand shake or just standing still. The observers’ task was to classify the model by gender. Our results show that observers react fastest, and therefore show least avoidance, for the shortest distances (50 and 90 cm) but only when models wear a face mask and do not interact. Thus, our results document both pro- and anti-social consequences of face masks as a result of the complex interplay between social distancing and interactive behavior. Practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Infectious touching: Has COVID-19 changed our perceptions of social touch? A neural and behavioral study

“…Moreover, participants who reported overall greater physical isolation, stronger feelings of social closeness and higher perceived threat of COVID-19 gave more positive ratings to images depicting individuals alone and in very small groups. Our findings are also in line with Kühne et al (2022), who found that following the pandemic, participants perceived situations in which two individuals were depicted wearing face masks and not interacting with one another as more positive. One important and surprising insight emerging from the current study is that COVID-19 has had an impact on human perception of social touch, such that observing nonsocial touch evoked more positive emotions than observing human touch.…”

Impact of face masks and sunglasses on attractiveness, trustworthiness, and familiarity, and limited time effect: a Japanese sample

“…Alternatively, faces wearing face masks may have been a sign of health [ 14 ], and the degree of familiarity may have been equal between the unoccluded and faces wearing face masks [ 19 , 21 , 55 ]. In any case, face masks are nowadays becoming a social tool [ 56 ]. Notably, however, the significant simple-simple main effect of time point was only for LAFs wearing face masks.…”

Disposable Face-Mask Waste Management and Assessment Through Willingness to Pay and SWOT Framework in Post COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The use of masks has proven to be an effective strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19. Even in a critical situation such as a pandemic, it really helps people to socialize with other people because the mindset of each individual believes that masks can protect themselves from viral infections [12]. However, in indigenous communities in rural areas, these preventive measures tend to give a negative response [22].…”

“…In fact, COVID-19 can attack various ages and genders, this greatly affects the psychology of society because of the fear of being exposed to COVID-19 [2][3][4]. The risk of contracting COVID-19 can cause death, therefore people are vigilant by vaccinating [5][6][7] and use masks on individuals as a form of self-protection from the virus [8][9][10][11][12][13].…”