Bowlby’s Internal Working Models of Attachment

Abstract

The concept of internal working models is the core in the attachment theory since it represents the cornerstone in the construction of self- concept and beliefs related to social relations through the sensitive and emotional interaction between the mother and the infant,(or the figure) the attachment patterns of the individual are constructed, and according to the quality of attention and caregiving, the child gradually develops his internal working models until they stabilize, and it becomes dominating and exercising a kind of control over the individual’s beliefs and perceptions of himself and others, as each model. in this context, we will try to shed light and understand the theory of attachment, which is still considered vague and misunderstood.

The study concluded that a positive relationship between secure attachment and mental health, and that insecure attachment is a factor of weakness for psychopathological manifestations, and studies have confirmed a link between busy anxious attachment and internal disorders, avoidant attachment and external disorders, and a combination of psychological disorders in irregular attachment, and some mental illnesses can be found in all types of insecure attachments such as borderline cases. On this basis, Bowlby (1980) explained that in order to be able to predict and organize his world, an individual needs a safe model derived from his surroundings that helps him to explode his potential and stored energies, since these internal models are maps used to predict self-perception and the behavior of others in social life.