Personality Correlates of COVID-19 Infection Proclivity: Extraversion Kills

The current research sought to shed light on some of the behavioral science that underlies the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (i.e., the novel coronavirus). Specifically, we tested the extraversion hypothesis, which suggests that the sociability facet of extraversion may predispose people to becoming infected with (and, thus, becoming likely to spread) the coronavirus via greater human-to-human contact. Since extraverts, by their very nature, seek out social opportunities, we hypothesized that extraverts would be more likely to get infected with the virus compared with introverts. We measured each of the other Big 5 personality traits as well as political orientation. We collected data from 226 adults, aged 40 and older, from the US and the UK. This sample included 63 participants who had had the virus at some point prior to the study and 166 who did not. Our data revealed two basic findings: Relatively sociable participants were more likely to have had COVID-19 compared with others. Further, relatively politically conservative participants were more likely to have had COVID-19. Implications regarding the behavioral science underlying the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.