internal working model

• Bowlby’s theory says that an infant’s monotropic (primary) attachment forms a template for all relationships that follow. This template is known as the internal working model and is a cognitive framework through which the individual understands themself and their expectations for relationships to other people. The internal working model also creates some consistency between the emotional experiences of early life and the emotional experiences of later relationships.
• continuity hypothesis of attachment- early attachment experiences, particularly with primary caregivers, significantly influences and predicts the development of later relationships, including those in adulthood
• research has shown that the internal working model a child has affects their ability to parent their own children, leading to continuity in quality of relationship across generations,