Fig. 4

Oscillatory pattern of escalation and de-escalation. A prototypic pattern of aggressive behaviour in one couple, illustrating the contributions that prior level, velocity and acceleration make to the ongoing dynamics of conflict. (A) Each individual tends to match their opponent, but one person may initiate an increase in aggression; (B) Increases in aggression tend to lead to further increases, but the opponent may initially attempt to de-escalate by not retaliating; (C) If attempted de-escalation fails and aggression continues the opponent will then likely retaliate, matching the aggressor; (D) Increases in aggression from the opponent tend to lead to a reduction in aggression from the original aggressor, but the opponent may continue even after the original aggressor has de-escalated; (E) After the opponent has retaliated they may then de-escalate, resulting in a return to matching, and allowing the cycle to continue; (F) The cyclic nature of the conflict is consistent enough across dyads to be visible in a grand-mean plot representing the average blast level at each round.