Technical comment on Rolón, V., Geher, G., Link, J., and Mackiel, C. (2021). Personality correlates of COVID-19 infection proclivity: Extraversion kills. Personality and Individual Differences, 180, 110994

In a recent study, Rolón and colleagues (2021) provided self-report data on a six-item extraversion scale, self-reported COVID-19 infection status, and political ideology from n = 53 previously infected and 164 previously noninfected participants. Based on comparisons of the subsamples concerning domain and facet scores in extraversion (0.04 ≤ g ≤ 0.35), correlation analyses (r = 0.15), and a regression analysis predicting the sociability facet by the infection status (β = 0.14), they conclude that “extraversion kills.” We express concern regarding the theoretical notion of this claim, the discrepancy between findings and interpretations, and methodological considerations (e.g., low power, small [sub]sample size, missing replication efforts, and limitations in the assessment of extraversion). In conclusion, we strongly recommend interpreting the findings by Rolón et al. cautiously pending replication.