Lower empathy for face mask wearers is not explained by observer’s reduced facial mimicry

by Sarah D. McCrackin, Jelena Ristic

Facial occlusion alters social processes that rely on face visibility, including spontaneous mimicry of emotions. Given that facial mimicry of emotions is theorized to play an important role in how we empathize or share emotions with others, here we investigated if empathy was reduced for faces wearing masks because masks may reduce the ability to mimic facial expressions. In two preregistered experiments, participants rated their empathy for faces displaying happy or neutral emotions and wearing masks or no masks. We manipulated mimicry by either blocking mimicry with observers holding a pen in between their teeth (Experiment 1) or by producing a state of constant congruent mimicry by instructing observers to smile (Experiment 2). Results showed reduced empathy ratings for masked faces. Mimicry overall facilitated empathy, with reduced empathy ratings when mimicry was blocked and higher empathy ratings when it was instructed. However, this effect of mimicry did not vary with mask condition. Thus, while observers were impaired in sharing emotions with masked faces, this impairment did not seem to be explained by a reduction in facial mimicry. These results show that mimicry is an important process for sharing emotions, but that occluding faces with masks reduces emotion sharing via a different mechanism.