The team of researchers designed a trio of studies to pinpoint the best tactics for reconciling conflicts within a relationship. “There’s a lot of research out there already that talks about the importance of what couples do during conflict, and people understand that,” Prager said. The sets of behaviors were grouped by researchers under four umbrellas: avoidance, active repair, letting go and gaining a new perspective. “We devoted a lot of time to going through descriptions of what participants did, generalizing them and coming up with a short list of types of post-conflict behaviors. “We have to keep in mind that people can be vulnerable immediately after a conflict,” Parsons said.