Impact of Face Masks on Social Interaction: A Study on Gender Differences in Contingency Learning

Facial expressions are crucial for conveying cognitive and affective states, enabling predictions about others’ emotions. In this study, we examine how masks affect causal perception during social interactions. Participants (N = 162) learned contingencies between masked and unmasked emotional states (Happy, Sad, Neutral) across three conditions: positive (emotionally congruent), zero (emotionally independent), and negative (emotionally incongruent). Results indicate that face masks impaired the learning of emotional contingencies particularly in positive and negative conditions. Interestingly, females and males were differentially impacted by masks: females’ advantage in perceiving positive contingencies with unmasked faces disappeared when faces were masked, whereas males showed stronger sensitivity to negative contingencies under masked conditions. We discuss the interpretation of these effects from the perspective of information processing and social cues. The findings provide insights into the mechanisms of learning and facial perception. Masks have an impact of the availability of the statistical cues available for emotional perception, and this impact interacts with the emotional and statistical qualities of the interaction.