Changes in facial expression recognition and well-being over time
AI Summary
Improved accuracy in recognising most occluded expressions over 3–4 months; reaction time faster for fearful faces and slower for surprised faces.
Greater daily masked interactions correlated with slower reaction times for happy and sad faces yet higher accuracy in recognising expressions, indicating a speed accuracy trade-off.
Increased depressive symptoms related to better recognising masked happy faces; increased anxiety related to better recognising happy and neutral faces.
ABSTRACTFacial occlusion effects on emotion recognition are well-documented; however, improvements in recognition over time and relations with mental health changes remain unclear. This longitudinal study examined changes in recognition of occluded emotional faces and mental health features in a Canadian cohort (N = 128). After 3-4 months, participants showed greater accuracy in recognising most expressions and faster reaction time (RT) for fearful but slower RT for surprised faces. More daily “masked interactions” were related to slower RT for happy and sad faces but higher accuracy, suggesting a speed-accuracy trade-off. Increased depression symptoms were associated with greater accuracy for masked happy faces, while increased anxiety was associated with greater accuracy for happy and neutral faces. This study emphasises complex relations between masked emotion recognition and mental well-being, which can inform strategies for coping with social interaction restrictions.
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