Early Attachment influence on Childhood & Adult Relationship

• overview table summary

  
• The role of the Internal Working Model

  An internal working model resembles a schema in that it is a mental structure in long-term memory that provides the basis for forming expectations. In the case of attachment, this relates to a person’s expectations about relationships and their own success as a parent.
• Strength (early attachment influence)

  Supporting Research - as suggested by Bowlby’s view, that an infant’s first relationship with a primary attachment figure forms a mental representation for later relationship.
• Limitation (early attachment influence on later life)

  Mixed Findings – In contrast to the support for the internal working model, findings from Zimmerman et al’s (2000) longitudinal studies yielded mixed results. They found that childhood attachment type was not a good predictor of attachments in adolescence, and that life events often altered secure attachments to an insecure type in adulthood.