avatarR. Rangan PhD

Summary

The article discusses the impact of face masks on emotional communication, particularly among children, and introduces a study suggesting that despite masks, kids can still understand facial expressions effectively.

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the widespread use of face masks, leading to concerns about the potential impact on non-verbal communication and emotional understanding, especially in children who learn through imitation. However, recent research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicates that children are capable of interpreting emotions even when faces are partially obscured by masks, as they utilize a combination of vocal inflections, body language, and contextual cues. This resilience in emotional perception is encouraging, as it suggests that the development of children's emotional intelligence may not be significantly hindered by the current health safety measures. The article concludes with a hopeful outlook for the post-pandemic era, emphasizing the adaptability of humans and the potential for collective growth despite adversity.

Opinions

  • The author believes that while masks present a challenge to emotional communication, they do not completely block our ability to understand each other's emotions.
  • It is suggested that emotions are multimodal and can be conveyed through various channels beyond facial expressions, such as tone of voice and body language.
  • The article expresses optimism about the resilience of children's emotional development, implying that they can adapt to the current situation without significant detriment to their social learning.
  • The author encourages a positive perspective on the pandemic's challenges, highlighting the potential for societal progress and resilience in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
  • There is an implicit call to action for readers to engage creatively with science through the #30DaysOfScikuChallenge, demonstrating the interplay between science and art in understanding and coping with the world around us.

Mask(ed) Emotions

Day 10 Prompt: Affective Science Inspired Sciku

Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash

with or without mask emotions will find a way to grow and connect

The COVID-19 crisis continues, and with that, the age of masks or face covering is here to stay, at least for a while. This has many implications for our daily lives, and one of them is — what it might mean for our ability to communicate and convey non-verbal cues to those around us.

Think for a moment about how much is conveyed with a smile or a frown — and now imagine not being able to see that smile or frown as it is covered under a mask. Now imagine the scenario in schools or places where kids and adults are interacting with their faces partly covered — might it impact children’s emotional development — after all, social learning in humans is in large part via imitation. With the face covered, much of the information cues are taken away — Will the kids have difficulty identifying and understanding emotions?

Well, apparently not so much — according to a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologists — they report that the face coverings to keep COVID-19 in check isn’t necessarily keeping kids from understanding facial expressions.

“Emotions aren’t conveyed solely through your face,” Ruba says. “Vocal inflections, the way that someone positions their body, and what’s going on around them, all that other information helps us make better predictions about what someone is feeling.” ( source : Ruba et al., 2020)

Hopefully, it is comforting to know that while it might be slightly tougher to identify emotions with part of faces being covered, that overall, kids are resilient and our brains are able to adjust to the information they are given and growing in their emotional capabilities.

With the new vaccine or two, and with reasonable lifestyle changes to keep us safe, let us hope that 2021 brings a swift end to the COVID-19 crisis — we have learned a lot and hope it unmasks our collective drive to excel against all odds!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

*This is Day 10 of the #sciku challenge — science-inspired haiku-like poetry( so #sciku?) prompts to get you inspired — Our dear readers — why not spend some time each day creating and having a little fun — if you do — publish it anywhere on medium, just tag it with — #30DaysOfScikuChallenge.

**If Haikus/SciKus are not your thing, feel free to exercise your artistic creativity and write another form of a science-inspired story — I can’t wait to read what you come up with.

Tagging Laura Griffith Machado, PsyD Lee Ameka Ruchi Thalwal Synthia Satkuna, KK Malukani, PhD and anyone else who feels inspired to follow and/or play along with this fun #30DaysOfScikuChallenge and today’s prompt: Affective Science

What to read next? Give this a look —

30daysofscikuchallenge
Emotions
Kids
Covid-19
Masks
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