Bowlby suggested that a baby's first relationship with their primary attachment figure leads to a mental representation of this relationship
This internal working model acts as a template for future childhood and adult relationships
Internal working model:
The quality of a baby's first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully affect the nature of their future relationships
A baby whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable attachment figure will tend to assume this is how relationships are meant to be
They will then seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them
Internal working model:
A child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships
This may mean they struggle to form relationships in the first place or they may not behave appropriately within relationships, displaying insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant behaviour towards friends and partners
Internal working model:
An infant whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume this is how relationships are meant to be. In the future, they will seek such relationships and behave in a similar manner
Type A - being too uninvolved or too emotionally close
Type C - being controlling or argumentative
Childhood friendships:
Infants who had been classified as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later in childhood, were less isolated and more popular, and more empathetic towards their peers
Poor parenting:
The lack of an internal working model means that individuals lack a reference point to subsequently form relationships with their own children
This is found in animal studies (Harlow) and human studies (Quinton)
Romantic relationships:
Research has demonstrated a link between early attachment type and later relationships
Individuals who were securely attached had longer lasting romantic relationships (Hazan and Shaver, 1987)