Face coverings: Considering the implications for face perception and speech communication

Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications has released a comprehensive collection of thirty articles on the impact of face coverings for face perception and speech communication.This thematic series was motivated by the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many governments around the world required or strongly recommended the wearing of face coverings (masks) in public spaces.It seems likely that the use of face coverings will continue, albeit in a more selective manner, even now that the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be over.Research on the impacts of face coverings on communication increased massively in 2020, with early work establishing, unsurprisingly, that masks hinder the recognition of identity and expression.Masks also impair speech communication and understanding and as a consequence can negatively affect psychosocial well-being.Papers included in this thematic collection represent the second phase of research, where more nuanced effects are investigated and the processes underpinning the effects found are explored.Papers included in this thematic series can be grouped by topic.A number of papers explored the role of mask wearing in identity recognition, learning and matching.Previous research established that wearing a mask impairs recognition (see for example, Carragher