How face mask wearing affects the sense of self

Breathing as a case of disrupted bodily self-consciousness

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21591902
AutoresMarta Calbi (0000-0001-7555-0611, University of Milan, autor de correspondencia), Chiara Cappelletto (0000-0003-3102-3996, University of Milan)
Año2025
Volumen38
Número6
Páginas2517-2541
Fecha de publicación2025-08-18
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPhilosophical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0951-5089 • E-ISSN: 1465-394X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09515089.2024.2341791
OpenAlexW4395044249
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas66

This pioneer study focuses on the feedback effect that the face mask has on its wearer’s sense of Self (i.e. bodily Self-consciousness) caused by its multisensorial components and affordances which are taken into account from a first-person perspective approach. On the grounds of enactivism and Material Engagement Theory, we run qualitative semi-structured interviews recruiting 48 participants: 24 people had no experience using lower face coverings before COVID-19 pandemic (February 2020) and 24 people were hospital workers with such prior experience. Results show that face mask wearing dramatically updates bodily Self-consciousness retroacting on breathing experience, with differences between the two groups. This is consistent with evidence showing that breathing is “transparent” unless bodily, environmental, and/or emotional changes arouse a situated awareness of it. We conclude that the face mask performs a retroactive effect, which we explained as due to a “material performative agency” that significantly modifies the standard balance between the transparency and the opacity of our bodily Self-consciousness

Aesthetics · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Consciousness · Psychology of self · Self · Self-awareness · Self-consciousness · Color perception and design · Multisensory perception and integration · Neuroscience · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts