Bowlby's Internal Working Model

• Bowlby saw attachments as monotropic whereby infants have an innate tendency to become attached to the one particular adult who interacts with them the most sensitively, usually - but not necessarily - the biological mother.
• This attachment is unique - the first to develop and the strongest of them all, it is different in quality from any subsequent attachment the child might form and it forms a model for relationships which the infant will expect from others.
• Known as the internal working model a template for future relationships based upon the infants primary attachment, which creates a consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships.
• The child's concept of the world is largely created from the attachments that have been modelled to him in early life.
• Attachments to others were viewed as secondary - attachment was a hierarchy with prime attachment at top and secondary attachments of minor importance.
• By the age of 3, the child has developed a sense of who he is in relation to those around him as well as the material world.
• It will be the child's guiding "temprament" for the rest of his years and affect the way he interacts in the world (Schore, 2000). 

• There are 3 main features of the IWM:

1. Model of others being trustworth.

2. Model of self as valuable.

3. Model of self as effective in relation to others.

• Each of these is a continuous scale from positive to negative and each child will fall in a different position on each of the features, making him a unique individual.
• The primary caregiver feeds into each one of these features to give the child a sense of identity.  E.g if a child feels rejected, it wuld be likely to show avoidant behaviour.
• All relationships thrive and fail on each individuals part in it, therefore a child will create an effect on the parent, who then reacts in a specific way to the child, creating a spiral effect.

IWM & Social Learning Theory:

• IWM fits in with SLT which states that we learn from those around us.  Parents modle behaviour which serves as a guide tothe child of acceptable behaviour.

• Initially the child is driven to seek food and demands this from its caregiver.  The caregiver responds and the cycle of dependency is created.  
• Once basics needs are met and the child becomes more mobile, it can begin to piece together the other elements of its environment.
• It learns that others ar trustworthy, or not.
• If a child is malnourished, it will also believe that he is not valued and becuase he has not been successful in persuading you to give him food, he will not see himself as effective.  He will feel isolated and unattached.
• Reverse these behaviours with a child given pride of place in the caregiver's heart.  The caregiver is thoughtful and considerate, wanting to fulfill the child's needs.  
• The caregiver will show warmth and love, which makes the child feel wanted and valuable.  This increases self-esteem and confidence so he can relate well to other people.
• The 3 main features of the IWM are interactive and involve an element of learning, initially through classical conditioning, sometimes through operant conditioning of reward and reinforcement and at other times through modelling and imitation.
• The IWM was primarily posited for the primary caregiver,but because a child is exposed to othr people as it gets older, it's IWM will become more encompassing of people and objects.
• But the roots of the IWM remain with the first attachment the child made.