Psychology Report: Internal Working Model and Attachment Theory

This report delves into the Internal Working Model and Attachment Theory, focusing on children aged 8-11. It explores the work of Bowlby, highlighting the significance of secure attachments and their influence on a child's understanding of the world and relationships. The report examines research by Wright, Binney, and Smith (1995) on attachment patterns, parental welfare, child behavior, and competence using the Separation Anxiety Test. It emphasizes the link between secure attachment and coping mechanisms, alongside the emotional and social development of children in this age group, and discusses the desire for independence from parents and siblings. The report references key studies to support its findings, including the work of Miljkovitch et al. (2015) and Zimmermann and Iwanski (2015), providing a comprehensive overview of the topic.

Attachment 8-11 Year Olds 1
Internal Working Model
John Bowlby developed the internal working model and it is a framework made up of
mental representations used to understand the world, self and others (Milijkovitch et al, 2015).
It helps us to understand how people relate with each other hence work on developing
better relationships.
This model explains that it is important for children to develop secure attachments with a
caregiver.
One of the theories associated with the internal working model is the attachment theory.
This theory emphasizes that the emotional bond, which occurs between a child and parent, helps
the child to learn about the world and how they should interact with others (Milijkovitch et al,
2015).
The main types of attachment are secure, insecure ambivalent, insecure avoidant and
disorganized.
Further research was carried out by three researchers Wright, Binney and Smith (1995)
who looked at the attachment patterns in 8-12 year old kids.
The study further looked at their relationship to parental welfare and strain and child
behavior and competence.
Separation Anxiety Test was used for the study. The study gave emphasis to why it is
important to address how children make a comparison to themselves.
One of the factors that were found to be related to the self-reliance scale was competency.
Once the first assessment was done it was evident that the children who were securely attached

Attachment 8-11 Year Olds 2
were at first anxious but dealt with this rationally. The children who were not securely attached
had their own coping strategies.
The emotional and social growth of 8-11 year olds is characterized by the great desire to
be independent from their siblings and parents.

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References
Miljkovitch, R., Moss, E., Bernier, A., Pascuzzo, K. and Sander, E., 2015. Refining the
assessment of internal working models: the Attachment Multiple Model
Interview. Attachment & human development, 17(5), pp.492-521.
Wright, J.C., Binney, V. and Smith, P.K., 1995. Security of Attachment in 8–12‐Year‐Olds: A
Revised Version of the Separation Anxiety Test, its Psychometric Properties and Clinical
Interpretation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36(5), pp.757-774.
Zimmermann, P. and Iwanski, A., 2015. Attachment in middle childhood: Associations with
information processing. New directions for child and adolescent development, 2015(148),
pp.47-61.
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