The psychology of mask-wearing: Autonomy, anxiety and altruism in 2024

Hana El Nemr
Thu, 20 Jun 2024 02:23:14 +0000
Campus, Instagram Page, News, anxiety, autonomy, Barbara Andersen, covid, covid anxiety, covid pandemic, COVID psychology, COVID-19, Covid-19 pandemic, covid-19 restrictions, Laurence Coutellier, masking, masking anxiety, masks, N95 mask, Ohio State COVID restrictions, ohio state masking, Ohio State psychology, pandemic, psychology, social anxiety, student autonomy, student masking

Although the state of Ohio lifted its mask mandate in August 2021, some students still choose to mask to protect themselves and those closest to them. Credit: Reid Murray | Managing Editor for Design.

Before Jasie Geisler departs for her chemistry lecture, she makes sure to grab her essentials on the way out the door. She puts on her shoes, grabs her backpack and secures her N95 mask.

Within her roughly 85-person class, Geisler — a second-year in microbiology — is the only one wearing a mask. Still, the thought of getting her 89-year-old grandfather and her two younger sisters sick when she visits her family scares her more than the social anxiety that wearing a mask can produce.

A need to protect themselves and others from illness, despite the feelings of self-consciousness that come with being social outliers, is one of the reasons that students around campus have continued to wear masks in 2024.

Though wearing a mask during a time when most people are not can increase one’s anxiety levels, Laurence Coutellier, an associate professor in behavioral neuroscience at Ohio State, said wearing masks can help assure people they are doing their part to keep those around them safe.

“The [COVID-19] pandemic ending did not turn off the anxiety that some people had towards getting their loved ones and their community members sick,” Coutellier said. “For some, it enhanced the importance of taking care of those around them.”

Geisler said protecting her personal health was just as much of a concern as it was for her to protect her family. The idea of being one of the only people wearing a mask, however, initially made her feel uneasy.

“Being the only person wearing a mask in a room is scary because it’s like a spotlight,” Geisler said.

Duane Wegener, professor and department chair of Ohio State’s Department of Psychology, said many who choose to wear a mask today are facing what is known as cognitive dissonance, which occurs when a person holds two conflicting ideas at once.

“When a person wearing a mask feels anxious while they are wearing the mask, the most psychologically natural behavior is to choose to not wear the mask,” Wegener said. “However, feeling that anxiety and continuing to wear a mask is what creates dissonance.”

This dissonance is something that Geisler has, for the most part, gotten used to living with. Geisler said the sense of relief that she feels going back home — knowing that she spent her time in college wearing a mask — validates her actions.

“I know that it is not common to wear a mask, and that reality lives with me everywhere I go,” Geisler said. “It makes me feel so much safer knowing that I am exposing myself and my loved ones to the college environment while taking precautions.”

Other students have shared Geisler’s anxiety about being one of few wearing a mask but said their fear of getting sick outweighs the anxiety that comes with standing out.

During the pandemic, Tessa Oedy, a third-year in accounting, said she had grown comfortable wearing a mask because it made her feel safe from not only COVID-19, but also other viruses.

“Before COVID-19 was as big as it was, there were still things in the air that could make you sick,” Oedy said. “Being exposed to the pandemic made me even more cognizant of just how much could get me sick, and wearing a mask eases that discomfort for me.”

The decisions that students like Geisler and Oedy have made regarding masks play into a psychological need for autonomy, said Barbara Andersen, an Ohio State professor in clinical psychology.

Andersen said autonomy refers to the feeling that people have to make their own choices, and the choice to wear a mask is an expression of that autonomy.

“As human beings, we live by this innate yearning for choice,” Andersen said. “The choice to wear a mask in 2024 to protect oneself even though other people are not is the epitome of psychological autonomy.”

While Geisler does not want the world to go on lockdown again, she hopes that others continue to take with them the lessons the pandemic taught them.

“Everywhere I go, I still remember what the pandemic did to all of us psychologically but more than anything, I remember what it did to people physically,” Geisler said. “At the end of the day, the human thing is to take care of each other.”

This story was updated at 9:47 p.m. Dec. 14, 2024, to correct the misspelling of Jasie Geisler’s first name.