Internal working model of attachment is a psychological approach that attempts to describe the development of mental representations, specifically the worthiness of the self and expectations of others' reactions to the self. This model is a result of interactions with primary caregivers which become internalized, and is therefore an automatic process.[1]John Bowlby implemented this model in his attachment theory in order to explain how infants act in accordance with these mental representations. It is an important aspect of general attachment theory.
Such internal working models guide future behavior as they generate expectations of how attachment figures will respond to one's behavior.[2] For example, a parent rejecting the child's need for care conveys that close relationships should be avoided in general, resulting in maladaptive attachment styles.
Influences
The most influential figure for the idea of the internal working model of attachment is Bowlby, who laid the groundwork for the concept in the 1960s. He was inspired by both psychoanalysis, especially object relations theory, and more recent research into ethology, evolution and information-processing.
In psychoanalytic theory, there has been the idea of an inner or representational world (proposed by Freud) as well as the internalization of relationships (Fairbairn, Winnicott). According to Freud first schemata evolve out of experiences regarding need fulfilment via the attachment figure.[3] He argued that the resulting mental representation is an internal copy of the external world made up from memories, and thinking serves the role of experimental action. Fairbairn and Winnicott proposed that these early patterns of relationships become internalized and govern future relationships.[2]
However, the ethological-evolutionary aspects of the theory received more attention. Bowlby was interested in separation distress, and bonding in animals. He noticed that many infant behaviours are organized around the goal of maintaining proximity to the caregiver.[4] He proposed that human infants like other mammals must have an attachment motivational-behavioural system which enhances chances for survival.[2]Ainsworth observed mother-infant interaction and came to the conclusion that individual differences in reaction to separation could not be explained by simple absence or presence of the caregiver but must be the result of a cognitive process.[4]
However, when Bowlby developed his attachment theory, cognitive psychology was still at its beginning. Only in 1967, Neisser proposed a theory of mental representation based on schemas which later led to the development of schema theory. It was said that these scripts might be the base of the structure of internal working models.[5]
The term internal working model, however, was coined quite early by Craik (1943). What he called internal working model was a more elaborate and modern version of the psychoanalytical idea of the internal world.[2] In essence, he claimed that humans carry a small-scale representation, or model of reality, and their own potential actions within it in their mind.[6]
In summary, Bowlby remodelled Freud’s work about relationship development in terms of newer fields of research (evolutionary biology, ethology, information-processing theory), drawing both from Craik’s idea of representations as the formation and use of dynamic models and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.[4]
Function
There are several hypothesized functions of an internal working model of attachment, both in terms of its evolutionary origins and inherent functioning.
Bowlby proposed that proximity-seeking behaviour evolved out of selection pressure.[4] In the context of survival, a healthy internal working model helps the infant to maintain proximity to their caregiver in the face of threat or danger.[7] This is especially important for species with prolonged periods of development, like humans. Due to the relative immaturity of the infant at birth, offspring that manages to maintain a close relationship to their caregiver by seeking their proximity has a survival advantage.[4] A close emotional bond to the caregiver is therefore crucial for protection from physical harm, and thus the internal working model mediates attachment.[8] This regulation is enforced via a motivational-behaviour system, motivating both infant and caregiver to seek proximity.[6] Specifically, caregiving is regulated by behavioural processes complementary to the infant’s proximity-seeking, e.g. the baby smiles, the adult feels reward as a result.[4]
Having an adequate internal model or representation of the self and the caregiver also serves the adaptive function of ensuring appropriate interpretation and prediction of, as well as response to the environment.[6] Craik especially emphasized that those organisms that are capable of forming complex internal working models have higher chances of survival.[4] The better the internal working model can simulate reality, the better the individual’s capacity to plan and respond.[6] According to Bowlby, individuals form both models of the world and the self within it. These models, initially the product of specific experiences of reality, then aid future attention to and perception and interpretation of the world, which in turn creates certain expectations about possible future events, allowing foresightful and appropriate behaviour. Hence, having adequate representations of the self and caregivers serves an adaptive function.[8][6]
Lastly, if the infant can be sure about the availability of the attachment figure, it will be less prone to fear due to the supportive presence or secure base function of the caregiver, which makes exploration of the environment and hence learning possible.[6] This felt security is the primary goal of all working models.[8] Ainsworth researched the secure base phenomenon in her strange situation procedure in which an infant uses their mother as a secure base.[4] The attachment system provides the child with a sense of security in the form of this base, which supports exploration of the environment and hence independence.[7] A securely attached child will, in turn, achieve a balance between intimacy and independence.[8] This corresponds to a balance between the attachment system which serves the function of protection and the exploration system which facilitates learning.[4]
The function of other attachment styles can be explained in terms of an imbalance of intimacy and independence, a preoccupation with one of these goals. This overriding chronic goal is intimacy in preoccupied children, independence or self-protection in dismissive children, and in case of the fearful child, there is a conflicting chronic goal of achieving both intimacy and independence at the same time or an approach-avoidance conflict due to relative inflexibility in comparison to secure attachment.
The internal working model functions largely outside of conscious awareness. Those subconscious aspects might be especially important for the function of self-protection and serve as a defence mechanism in the face of contradicting models, where one of them operates within the subconscious to prevent a threat to the self. This is mostly the case for dismissive-avoidant attachment where conflicting ideas of the caregiver as both loving and neglecting cause the defence mechanism of downplaying the need for intimacy, not relying on the attachment figure, and emphasizing independence.[8]
Types
Infants develop different types of internal working models dependent on two factors: the responsiveness and accessibility of the parent and the worthiness of the self to be loved and supported. Thus, by the age of three years, infants will have developed several expectations about how attachment figures will react to their need for help and start to evaluate how likely the self is worth of support in general.[9] These internalized representations of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships are constructed as a result of experiences with primary caregivers. It guides the individual’s expectations about relationships throughout life, subsequently influencing social behavior, perception of others and development of self-esteem.[10]
Essentially, four different internal working models can be defined which are based on positive or negative images of self and others.[7] Children who feel securely attached seek their parent as a secure base and are willing to explore their environment. In adulthood, they hold a positive model of self and others, therefore, feeling comfortable with intimacy and autonomy. On the contrary, adults who develop a fearful-avoidant internal working model (negative self, negative others) construct defense mechanisms in order to protect themselves from being rejected by others. Consequently, they avoid intimate relationships. The third category is classified as the preoccupied model, indicating a combination of negative self-evaluation and the appreciation of others, which makes them overly dependent on their environment. Finally, dismissive-avoidant adults aim for independence as they view themselves as valuable and autonomous. They rarely open up and mainly rely on themselves due to lack of trust in others.[7]
Type
Description
Model of self
Dependence
Model of other
Avoidance
Secure
comfortable with intimacy and independence
positive
low
positive
low
Fearful
fearful of intimacy, avoidant
negative
high
negative
high
Preoccupied
preoccupied with intimacy
negative
high
positive
low
Dismissing
dismissing of intimacy, counter-dependent
positive
low
negative
high
Development
Internal working models are considered to result out of generalized representations of past events between attachment figure and the child.[11][2][3] Thus, in forming an internal working model a child takes into account past experiences with the caregiver as well as the outcomes of past attempts to establish contact with the caregiver.[3] One important factor in the establishment of generalized representations is caregiver behaviour.[8] Accordingly, a child whose caretaker exhibits high levels of parental sensitivity, responsiveness and reliability is likely to develop a positive internal working model of the self. Conversely, frequent experiences of unreliability and neglect by the attachment figure foster the emergence of negative internal working models of self and others.[12]
As infants have been shown to possess the social and cognitive capacities necessary to form internal working models, initial development of these may occur within the first year of life.[11][3] Once established, internal working models are assumed to remain largely consistent over time, developing primarily in complexity and sophistication.[5] As such, internal working models of young children may include representations of past instances of caregiver responsiveness or availability, while older children's and adults' internal working models may integrate more advanced cognitive abilities such as the imagination of hypothetical future interactions.[8] However, changes to internal representations of attachment relationships can occur. This is most likely to happen upon repeated experiences that are incompatible with the internal working model in place at the time.[11] One way this can happen is during major periods (meaning weeks or months) of absence of the attachment figure.[11] During such prolonged absence, a child's expectation of the caregiver's availability to respond is continuously violated. This results in a change of behaviour toward the caregiver upon reunion, reflecting changes in the child's internal working model of the relationship.[3]
Intergenerational transmission
Internal working models are subject to intergenerational transmission, meaning that parents' internal working model patterns may be passed on to their children.[2][13] Indeed, high correlations have been found between security of early infant attachment and parental internal working model security.[3][13] A central aspect in intergenerational transmission of internal working models is that caretakers themselves are influenced in their behaviour toward children by their own internal working models. For instance, a parent with a secure and consistent internal working model is likely to interpret an infant's attachment signals appropriately, whereas a parent with an insecure internal working model is less likely to do so.[2] In the latter case, the infant itself might be drawn to construct a negative working model of the self and the relationship. Furthermore, a parent with a negative, poorly organized and inconsistent working model might fail to provide useful feedback about the parent-infant dyad and other relationships, thus disrupting the infant's forming of a well-adapted working model at an early stage.[2] The result will be a negative, disorganized internal working model employed by the infant.
One mechanism by which attachment (and thus, internal working models of attachment) can be transmitted is joint reminiscing about past events or memories. For instance, mothers who are securely attached tend to communicate about past events in more elaborate ways than do mothers who are not securely attached.[5] While reminiscing together about past events, securely attached mothers will then engage in more elaborate reasoning with their child, thereby stimulating the development of a more elaborate, coherent internal working model by the child itself.[5][14][15]
Notes
↑ Verschueren, Karine; Marcoen, Alfons; Schoefs, Veerle (1996). "The Internal Working Model of the Self, Attachment, and Competence in Five-Year-Olds". Child Development. 67 (5): 2493–2511. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01870.x. ISSN0009-3920. PMID9022252.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Main, Mary; Kaplan, Nancy; Cassidy, Jude (1985). "Security in Infancy, Childhood, and Adulthood: A Move to the Level of Representation". Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 50 (1/2): 66–104. doi:10.2307/3333827. JSTOR3333827.
1 2 3 4 Bartholomew, Kim; Horowitz, Leonard M. (1991). "Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 61 (2): 226–244. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226. ISSN0022-3514. PMID1920064.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pietromonaco, Paula R.; Barrett, Lisa Feldman (2000). "The internal working models concept: What do we really know about the self in relation to others?". Review of General Psychology. 4 (2): 155–175. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.4.2.155. ISSN1089-2680. S2CID17413696.
↑ Hazan, Cindy; Shaver, Phillip R. (1994). "Attachment as an Organizational Framework for Research on Close Relationships". Psychological Inquiry. 5 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0501_1. ISSN1047-840X.
↑ Karavasilis, Leigh; Doyle, Anna Beth; Markiewicz, Dorothy (2003). "Associations between parenting style and attachment to mother in middle childhood and adolescence". International Journal of Behavioral Development. 27 (2): 153–164. doi:10.1080/0165025024400015. ISSN0165-0254. S2CID145629310.
Attachment disorder is a broad term intended to describe disorders of mood, behavior, and social relationships arising from unavailability of normal socializing care and attention from primary care giving figures in early childhood. Such a failure would result from unusual early experiences of neglect, abuse, abrupt separation from caregivers between three months and three years of age, frequent change or excessive numbers of caregivers, or lack of caregiver responsiveness to child communicative efforts resulting in a lack of basic trust. A person's attachment style is permanently established before the age of three. A problematic history of social relationships occurring after about age three may be distressing to a child, but does not result in attachment disorder.
Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. The most important tenet is that young children need to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for normal social and emotional development. The theory was formulated by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby.
Edward John Mostyn Bowlby, CBE, FRCP, FRCPsych was a British psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Bowlby as the 49th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
In psychology, an affectional bond is a type of attachment behavior one individual has for another individual, typically a caregiver for her or his child, in which the two partners tend to remain in proximity to one another. The term was coined and subsequently developed over the course of four decades, from the early 1940s to the late 1970s, by psychologist John Bowlby in his work on attachment theory. The core of the term affectional bond, according to Bowlby, is the attraction one individual has for another individual. The central features of the concept of affectional bonding can be traced to Bowlby's 1958 paper, "The Nature of the Child's Tie to his Mother".
Attachment in children is "a biological instinct in which proximity to an attachment figure is sought when the child senses or perceives threat or discomfort. Attachment behaviour anticipates a response by the attachment figure which will remove threat or discomfort". Attachment also describes the function of availability, which is the degree to which the authoritative figure is responsive to the child's needs and shares communication with them. Childhood attachment can define characteristics that will shape the child's sense of self, their forms of emotion-regulation, and how they carry out relationships with others. Attachment is found in all mammals to some degree, especially primates.
In psychology, the theory of attachment can be applied to adult relationships including friendships, emotional affairs, adult romantic relationships or platonic relationships and in some cases relationships with inanimate objects. Attachment theory, initially studied in the 1960s and 1970s primarily in the context of children and parents, was extended to adult relationships in the late 1980s. The working models of children found in Bowlby's attachment theory form a pattern of interaction that are likely to continue influencing adult relationships.
Attachment measures refer to the various procedures used to assess the attachment system in children and adults. Researchers have developed various ways of assessing self-protective strategies and patterns of attachment. Some methods work across the several models of attachment and some are model-specific.
Co-regulation is a term used in psychology. It is defined most broadly as a "continuous unfolding of individual action that is susceptible to being continuously modified by the continuously changing actions of the partner". An important aspect of this idea is that co-regulation cannot be reduced down to the behaviors or experiences of the individuals involved in the interaction. The interaction is a result of each participant repeatedly regulating the behavior of the other. It is a continuous and dynamic process, rather than the exchange of discrete information.
Attachment theory, originating in the work of John Bowlby, is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory that provides a descriptive and explanatory framework for understanding interpersonal relationships between human beings.
Attachment-based therapy applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, originated by John Bowlby. These range from individual therapeutic approaches to public health programs to interventions specifically designed for foster carers. Although attachment theory has become a major scientific theory of socioemotional development with one of the broadest, deepest research lines in modern psychology, attachment theory has, until recently, been less clinically applied than theories with far less empirical support. This may be partly due to lack of attention paid to clinical application by Bowlby himself and partly due to broader meanings of the word 'attachment' used amongst practitioners. It may also be partly due to the mistaken association of attachment theory with the pseudo-scientific interventions misleadingly known as attachment therapy. The approaches set out below are examples of recent clinical applications of attachment theory by mainstream attachment theorists and clinicians and are aimed at infants or children who have developed or are at risk of developing less desirable, insecure attachment styles or an attachment disorder.
The strange situation is a procedure devised by Mary Ainsworth in the 1970s to observe attachment in children, that is relationships between a caregiver and child. It applies to children between the age of nine and 30 months. Broadly speaking, the attachment styles were (1) secure and (2) insecure. Later, Mary Main and her husband Erik Hesse introduced the 3rd category, disorganized. The procedure played an important role in the development of attachment theory.
Trauma bonds are emotional bonds with an individual that arise from a recurring, cyclical pattern of abuse perpetuated by intermittent reinforcement through rewards and punishments. The process of forming trauma bonds is referred to as trauma bonding or traumatic bonding. A trauma bond usually involves a victim and a perpetrator in a uni-directional relationship wherein the victim forms an emotional bond with the perpetrator. This can also be conceptualized as a dominated-dominator or an abused-abuser dynamic. Two main factors are involved in the establishment of a trauma bond: a power imbalance and intermittent reinforcement of good and bad treatment, or reward and punishment. Trauma bonding can occur in the realms of romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, incestuous relationships, cults, hostage situations, sex trafficking, or tours of duty among military personnel.
Patricia McKinsey Crittenden is an American psychologist known for her work in the development of attachment theory and science, her work in the field of developmental psychopathology, and for creation of the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM).
Attachment theory and psychology of religion research explores the ways that a belief in God can fulfill the criteria of an attachment figure and examines how individual differences in attachment lead to correspondence or compensation pathways.
Maternal sensitivity is a mother's ability to perceive and infer the meaning behind her infant's behavioural signals, and to respond to them promptly and appropriately. Maternal sensitivity affects child development at all stages through life, from infancy, all the way to adulthood. In general, more sensitive mothers have healthier, more socially and cognitively developed children than those who are not as sensitive. Also, maternal sensitivity has been found to affect the person psychologically even as an adult. Adults who experienced high maternal sensitivity during their childhood were found to be more secure than those who experienced less sensitive mothers. Once the adult becomes a parent themselves, their own understanding of maternal sensitivity will affect their own children's development. Some research suggests that adult mothers display more maternal sensitivity than adolescent mothers who may in turn have children with a lower IQ and reading level than children of adult mothers.
Studies have found that the father is a child's preferred attachment figure in approximately 5–20% of cases. Fathers and mothers may react differently to the same behaviour in an infant, and the infant may react to the parents' behaviour differently depending on which parent performs it.
Attachment and Health is psychological model which considers how attachment theory pertains to people’s preferences and expectations for the proximity of others when faced with stress, threat, danger or pain. In 1982 the American Psychiatrist, Lawrence Kolb, noticed that patients with chronic pain displayed behaviours with their healthcare providers akin to what children might display with an attachment figure, thus marking one of the first applications of attachment theory to physical health. Development of adult attachment theory and adult attachment measures in the 1990s provided researchers with the means to apply attachment theory to health in a more systematic way. Since that time it has been used to understand variation in stress response, health outcomes and health behaviour. Ultimately, the application of attachment theory to health care may enable health care practitioners to provide more personalized medicine by creating a deeper understanding of patient distress and allowing clinicians to better meet their needs and expectations.
Jude Anne Cassidy is Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland. Cassidy was awarded the American Psychological Association Boyd McCandless Young Scientist Award in 1991 for her early career contributions to Developmental Psychology. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 7 and the Association for Psychological Science.
Interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) or relational neurobiology is an interdisciplinary framework associated with human development and functioning. It was developed in the 1990s by Daniel J. Siegel who sought to bring together a wide range of scientific disciplines in demonstrating how the mind, brain, and relationships integrate to alter one another. In IPNB, the mind is viewed as a process that regulates the flow of both energy and information through its neurocircuitry, which is then shared and regulated between people through engagement, connection, and communication. Drawing on systems theory, Siegel proposed that these integrated processes within interpersonal relationships can shape the genetically programmed maturation of the nervous system. Seigel thus believes that the mind has an irreducible quality which informs his approach.
The dynamic-maturational model of attachment and adaptation (DMM) is a transdisciplinary model describing the effect attachment relationships can have on human development and functioning. It is especially focused on the effects of relationships between children and parents and between reproductive couples. It developed initially from attachment theory as developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, and incorporated many other theories into a comprehensive model of adaptation to life's many dangers. The DMM was initially created by developmental psychologist Patricia McKinsey Crittenden and her colleagues including David DiLalla, Angelika Claussen, Andrea Landini, Steve Farnfield, and Susan Spieker.
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