Internal working model of attachment
Internal working model of attachment is a psychological approach that attempts to describe the development of mental representations, specifically the worthiness of the self and expectations of others' reactions to the self. This model is a result of interactions with primary caregivers which become internalized, and is therefore an automatic process. John Bowlby implemented this model in his attachment theory in order to explain how infants act in accordance with these mental representations. It is an important aspect of general attachment theory.
Internal working model of attachment
However, when Bowlby developed his attachment theory, cognitive psychology was still at its beginning. Only in 1967, Neisser proposed a theory of mental representation based on schemas which later led to the development of schema theory. It was said that these scripts might be the base of the structure of internal working models.