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Defensive Strategies and Handling Paths in Intimate Relationship Conflicts: A Dynamic Game Model From the Perspective
1The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Psych Journal
|July 18, 2026
Summary
Flexible emotion regulation in intimate relationships significantly reduces conflict intensity and duration. Limited regulation capacity, especially with power imbalances, increases defensive behaviors, impacting relationship dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Psychology
- Computational Social Science
Background:
- Intimate relationship conflicts are complex, influenced by individual emotion regulation strategies.
- Existing models often lack dynamic, computable frameworks for analyzing conflict behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a dynamic game model of intimate relationship conflicts incorporating emotion regulation.
- To simulate conflict evolution, defensive strategies, and intervention paths.
- To bridge theoretical emotion regulation constructs with observable conflict behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Developed a dynamic game model translating cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression into strategic parameters.
- Utilized longitudinal tracking data from 320 couples.
- Employed agent-based simulations to validate model mechanisms and explore conflict dynamics.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that flexible emotion regulation significantly reduces conflict intensity and shortens conflict cycles.
- Showed that limited emotion regulation capacity, particularly with power asymmetry, intensifies defensive rigidity.
- Highlighted the influence of neural coordination, relational fluidity, and cultural practices on conflict dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Operationalizing emotion regulation within a game-theoretic framework provides a computable variable for analyzing conflict.
- Findings offer a more integrated understanding of conflict, emphasizing emotional, relational, and cultural factors.
- The model serves as a practical tool for clinicians to diagnose patterns and design interventions for cooperative problem-solving.
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