By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK
Research published earlier this month in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology investigated whether face masks affect social interaction. Three researchers, two from the University of Kansas and one from Wellesley College conducted a masking experiment with 250 college students in 2012, well before the COVID-19 pandemic.
They found that “mask wearing had no effect on the ease, authenticity, friendliness of the conversation, mood, discomfort, or interestingness of the interaction. There were no discernible consequences of political ideology on the partner selection process or the evaluation of the interaction. Mask-wearing did not disable successful social interaction in this setting.”
They note that pre-pandemic, facial masks were mainly associated with medical professionals such as surgeons as well as woodworkers and others who needed protection from dust. Therefore, these results were from before the pandemic that introduced “symbolic, political, and tribal connotations.” They cite many studies done since the beginning of the pandemic that found a major change related to conspiracy ideology, political tribalism and freedom.
Since masking has now become a political act, their pre-pandemic study provides a measure of how the supposed disruption of wearing a mask is contrived from political ideology rather than from any actual limitations caused by masking.
Their pre-pandemic research showed “the liberal-conservative dimension played almost no role in response to wearing masks and interacting with masked others in 2012.” But a study of mask-wearing in 2020 by van Kessell & Quinn found mask-wearing “...was the most common difficulty for Republicans during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Democrats considered it a minor problem, typically complaining how others refused to wear a mask. Referencing another researcher, “this suggests that there is nothing inherent in wearing a mask that might concern conservatives—it is more likely the political meaning of mask-wearing that is being objected to.”
Since I have teacher contacts from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, I am well aware of the responses of their teachers and schoolchildren who rapidly adopted face masks and returned to face-to-face schooling with careful procedures for checking temperature and regular testing. This was not really a major change for them since Far Eastern populations have been using face masks for decades to reduce the spread of fall and winter diseases. The upgrade to N-95 and equivalent masking was no big deal.
In the United States, schoolchildren also rapidly adapted to facial masks and often were eager to show off their unique batman or other mask decorated with favorite characters. For the very few with burdens from asthma or a special education need to lip read, schools could easily make accommodations to unmask these few without increasing the danger level of schooling dramatically. In the end, it is not the schoolchild who initiates the complaint about masks, but the political parents. —And mainly in the Western countries where individualism (selfishness) overrides responsibility to others.
A solid and up-to-date 6-page summary of “COVID-19 and children” is provided in the September 9, 2022 issue of the journal Science (pages 1144–1149). This addresses our current knowledge on why COVID-19 is generally milder in children, why a few children develop the very serious MIS-C, the problem of long covid in children, and the importance of vaccinating children against COVID-19. Most important, “there is now unequivocal evidence that children play an important role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, particularly within school and household settings.” Younger children can be “silent” asymptomatic spreaders in school outbreaks, which then spread into their community and home.
Clear evidence now shows the greater cases that occurred when schools remained open and lacked masking. This pretty much condemns the politicians who assailed school closures, railed against mask wearing and even passed laws preventing school masking requirements. Their actions increased sickness and death.
We are now entering the colder seasons where more people will congregate indoors and breathe more aerosol droplets exhaled by others. Asia will mask up. More of their people will survive. We probably will not.
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John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities during 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.