Grace Roseen, a recent Wartburg College graduate, discussed her research on masks and facial recognition at the 2022 Midwest Psychological Association Conference in April.

Roseen, who majored in in neuroscience and psychology, presented “Effects of Occlusion From Facial Masks on Facial Emotion Recognition.” Her research grew out of her surroundings at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Masks cover approximately half of a person’s face, and I felt like I was having a more difficult time reading people’s facial expressions when they were wearing masks,” Roseen said.

She conducted two experiments and found many respondents had trouble identifying “lower-face” emotions, which are primarily communicated by the mouth, when a mask was in place. She also found a divergence between those more and less likely to have autism, suggesting that those with autism read emotional cues largely from the eyes rather than the mouth.

“I enjoyed talking about my research with other students and faculty who showed genuine interest in it, and I enjoyed learning about what other research was being conducted by undergraduates across the country.” Roseen said. “I was highly impressed and inspired by the range of topics, and I felt like I was part of a community of people who appreciate and have experience in psychology research.”