Examined how 52 nondistressed families managed spontaneous verbal conflicts that occurred during family dinners in the home, focusing on who started the conflicts, how long they were continued, and how they were brought to a close. The involvement of basic family roles (mother, father, son, and daughter) in conflict management is described. Overall, conflict initiation was evenly distributed across family roles. The extension of conflict was constrained by a constant probability of a next conflict move occurring. Most of the conflicts ended with no resolution. Mothers were most active in closing off conflicts.