psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

, masking is the process in which an individual camouflages their natural personality or behavior to conform to social pressures,

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

. Masking can be strongly influenced by environmental factors such as authoritarian parents, rejection, and

emotional Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition ...

physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...

, or sexual abuse. Masking can be a behavior individuals adopt subconsciously as coping mechanisms or a trauma responses, or it can be a conscious behavior an individual adopts to fit in within perceived societal norms. Masking is interconnected with maintaining performative behavior within social structures and cultures. Autistic masking refers to the suppression of autistic or neurodivergent traits to

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mounta ...

within society, and is a major focus of

neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept ...

research.Garcia, Eric, and Meghan Keane. ''"How "Unmasking" Leads To Freedom For Autistic And Other Neurodivergent People : Life Kit".'' ''NPR.Org'', 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092869514/unmasking-autism-more-inclusive-world.

History

Masking has existed since antiquity, with authors like

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

referencing it in fiction long before masking was formally defined and studied within psychology. Frantz Fanon is credited with defining masking in his 1957 ''Black Skin, White Masks'', which describes masking behavior in

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

within the stratified post-war United States. Fanon explains how African-Americans, especially those of low

social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...

, adopted certain behaviors to resemble white people as well as other behaviors intended to please whites and reinforce the white man's higher social status. The term masking was used to describe the act of concealing disgust by

Paul Ekman Paul Ekman (born February 15, 1934) is an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco who is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. He was ranked 59th out of ...

(1972) and Friesen (1969). It was also thought of as a learned behavior. Developmental studies have shown that this ability begins as early as preschool and improves with age. Masking is mostly used to conceal a negative emotion (usually sadness, frustration, and anger) with a positive emotion or indifferent affect.

Causes

The social drivers of masking include social discrimination, cultural dominance, and violence. Elizabeth Radulski argues that masking is a cultural performance within Judith Butler's concept of performativity that helps individuals bypass cultural and structural barriers.

Situational contexts

The causes of masking are highly contextual and situational. Masking may disguise emotions considered socially inappropriate within a situational context, such as

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

or rage. Individuals may mask in certain social situations, such as

job interviews A job interview is an interview consisting of a conversation between a job applicant and a representative of an employer which is conducted to assess whether the applicant should be hired. Interviews are one of the most popularly used devices for ...

or dates, or around people of different cultures, identities, or ethnicities. Since different social situations require different performances, individuals often switch masks and exhibit different masking behaviors in different contexts.

Code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualis ...

, although associated more with

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

, also refers to the process of changing one's masking behavior around different cultures in social and cultural anthropology. Contextual factors including relationships with one's conversation partner,

(class) differences, location, and social setting are all reasons why an individual would express, suppress, or mask an emotion. There is a gendered disparity in masking behavior; studies show women mask negative emotions to a greater extent than men. According to psychologist Teresa Davis, this may be due to the greater social expectation for conformity placed on female gender roles, causing women to develop the skill to a greater extent than men during childhood socialization.

Autistic masking

Some autistic people have been described as being able to "mask" or "camouflage" their signs of autism in order to meet social expectations. This may involve suppressing self-calming repetitive movements, faking a smile in an environment that they find uncomfortable or distressing, consciously evaluating their own behavior and mirroring others, or choosing not to talk about their special interests. Autistic people with conversational difficulties may also use more complex strategies such as scripting a conversation outline and developing conscious 'rules' for conversations, and carefully monitoring if these are being followed. Autistic people often learn conversational rules, social behaviors, and masking techniques by watching television shows and other media, often learning how to mimic a character's behavior.Hull, L., Petrides, K.V. & Mandy, W
"The Female Autism Phenotype and Camouflaging: a Narrative Review."
''Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders'' 7, 306–317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-020-00197-9 As masking is often a conscious effort, it can be exhausting for autistic people to mask for an extended period of time. Autistic people have cited social acceptance, the need to get a job, avoiding ostracism, or avoiding verbal or physical abuse as reasons for masking. Autistic women mask to a greater extent and complexity than autistic men and are often underdiagnosed as a result. Masking may conceal the person's need for support. Research has found that autistic masking is correlated with depression and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

. Many autistic adults in one survey described profound exhaustion from trying to pretend to be non-autistic. Masking for extended periods of time can result in burnout and emotional trauma.Shaw, S.C.K., Doherty, M., McCowan, S. ''et al.'' ''“Towards a Neurodiversity-Affirmative Approach for an Over-Represented and Under-Recognised Population: Autistic Adults in Outpatient Psychiatry”.'' ''J Autism Dev Disord'' 52, 4200–4201 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05670-4 Therapies that teach autistic people to mask, such as some forms of

applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance.S ...

, are controversial.

Consequences

Little is known about the effects of masking one's negative emotions. In the workplace, masking leads to feelings of dissonance, insincerity, job dissatisfaction, emotional and physical exhaustion, and self-reported health problems. Some have also reported experiencing

somatic symptoms Somatic anxiety, also known as somatization, is the physical manifestation of anxiety. It is commonly contrasted with ''cognitive anxiety'', which is the mental manifestation of anxiety, or the specific thought processes that occur during anxiety, s ...

and harmful physiological and cognitive effects as a consequence.

References