18.6: Internal Working Models of Attachment
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Creating a Model of Attachment
As research accumulated showing the long-term effects of the quality of attachment between young children and their caregivers, researchers became very interested in why — as in "Why does attachment at an early age predict later aspects of social, emotional, and cognitive development?" They began exploring possible mediating mechanisms to answer this question, looking for the pathways through which attachment exerts its effects. Research has uncovered several mechanisms, including neurophysiological pathways (e.g., children in securely attached dyads have lower levels of stress reactivity), but among the most interesting are young children's (and the later older children's, adolescents', and adults') internal working models of close relationships (Crittenden, 1999; Dykas & Cassidy, 2011; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985).[1]
As attachment develops, day-to-day interactions between infant and caregiver form the basis of the infant's internal working model – a set of beliefs and expectations they build about the availability and reliability of their attachment figures (Sherman, Rice, & Cassidy, 2015). These internal working models are constructed starting at a very young age, about the age of four months, as soon as children can mentally represent their experiences. It is as if over the first few years of life infants are "taking mental notes" about how these important relationships function, and the effects of these expectations can be seen in the ways infants wait after sending out distress signals to see if their caregiver is on the way or they need to escalate their communications. The specific, repeated experiences babies have with their caregivers become more generalized and internalized over time, indicating whether the attachment figure can be counted on for dependable comfort and protection in times of distress and serve as a secure base from which the infant can explore the world. This internal representation then informs what types of behavior can be expected from others, i.e., whether a person will pick them up when they are upset or should be turned to for comfort when sad.[1]
As children start to interact and form relationships with others, like other family members, preschool teachers, and peers, their internal working models form the basis of their expectations for how people will respond to them and therefore shape their behavior in relationships. Negative experiences with one caregiver may, for example, create the expectation that people are not to be trusted. So young children are less able to be their authentic selves or reach out to others when they are upset and need comfort. Because these internal working models influence children's behavior, they may shape the quality of their subsequent relationships, all the way up until adolescence and young adulthood (Allen & Miga, 2010). For example, adolescents with insecure-resistant internal working models may show ambivalence about close romantic relationships, both intensely wanting them and being resentful about how their needs are being met (Mikulincer, Shaver, Bar-On, & Ein-Dor, 2010).[1]
Though these internal representations tend to stay somewhat stable for children with secure attachments, they can continue to grow and change as children age and gather more social experiences. For example, consistent, warm, and caring interactions with other attachment figures, such as grandmothers or preschool teachers, have the power to change those beliefs allowing children to rework a negative internal working model into a positive one. Internal working models can be reworked at any age, as children encounter family members, neighbors, teachers, or other adults who provide high-quality care. For adolescents, close and caring friendships can provide opportunities to reconsider and expand their understanding of relationships. The good news is that, as adults, we can become aware of our internal working models of relationships and see how we may be bringing things from previous relationships into subsequent ones in ways that are causing us problems. Then we can intentionally rework our expectations about others in ways that make it easier for us to form secure relationships with our friends, romantic partners, and eventually our children.[1]
[1] Human Development by Human Development Teaching & Learning Group is licensed under a Creative Commons CC: BY-NC-SA