Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, and Unilevel Correlations Between All Variables in Study 1.

	M (SD)	Pearson’s correlations
Variable		2	3	4	5
1. Personal attitude	4.15 (2.05)	−.096*	.095*	−.058	−.242**
2. Polarization Index	0.27 (0.21)		−.124**	−.080*	−.089*
3. Conversational harmony	3.92 (1.35)			−.238**	−.186**
4. Avoidance	3.40 (1.48)				.270**
5. Negative emotions	2.78 (1.44)

Note. Polarization Index scores range from 0 (no polarization) to 1 (maximum polarization). All other variables are measured on 7-point scales, with higher scores indicating higher agreement with the target statement (1), more anticipated conversational harmony (3), higher intentions to avoid (4), and more negative emotions in response to the target statement (5).

*p < .05. **p < .01.