The internal working models concept is the foundation for understanding how attachment processes operate in adult relationships, yet many questions exist about the precise nature and structure of working models. To clarify the working models concept, the authors evaluate the empirical evidence relevant to the content, structure, operation, and stability of working models in adult relationships. They also identify 4 theoretical issues that are critical for clarifying the properties of working models. These issues focus on the central role of affect and goals in working models, the degree to which working models are individual difference or relational variables, and the definition of attachment relationships and felt security in adulthood.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AinsworthM. D. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, 709–716.
AndersenS. M., & KlatzkyR. L. (1987). Traits and social stereotypes: Levels of categorization in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 235–246.
4.
AndersenS. M., ReznikI., & ChenS. (1997). The self in relation to others: Motivational and cognitive underpinnings. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 818, 233–275.
5.
AronA., AronE. N., TudorM., & NelsonG. (1991). Close relationships as including other in the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 241–253.
6.
BaldwinM. W. (1992). Relational schemas and the processing of social information. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 461–484.
7.
BaldwinM., FehrB., KeedianE., SeidelM., & ThomsonD. W. (1993). An exploration of the relational schemata underlying attachment styles: Self-report and lexical decision approaches. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 746–754.
8.
BaldwinM. W., KeelanJ. P. R., FehrB., EnnsV., & Koh-RangarajooE. (1996). Social-cognitive conceptualization of attachment working models: Availability and accessibility effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 94–109.
9.
BarghJ. A. (1994). The four horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, intention, efficiency, and control in social cognition. In WyerR. S.Jr., & SrullT. K., Handbook of social cognition (2nd ed., (pp. 1–40). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
BarghJ. A. (1997). The automaticity of everyday life. In WyerR. S.Jr., Advances in social cognition (Vol. 10, pp. 1–61). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
11.
BarghJ. A., & TotaM. E. (1988). Context-dependent automatic processing in depression: Accessibility of negative constructs with regard to self but not others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 925–939.
12.
BartholomewK. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 147–178.
13.
BartholomewK., & HorowitzL. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.
14.
BartholomewK., & ShaverP. R. (1998). Methods of assessing adult attachment: Do they converge? In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 25–45). New York: Guilford Press.
15.
BowlbyJ. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
16.
BowlbyJ. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.
17.
BowlbyJ. (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. London: Tavistock.
18.
BowlbyJ. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss: Sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.
19.
BrennanK. A., ClarkC. L., & ShaverP. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In SimpsonJ. A. & RholesW. S., Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York: Guilford Press.
20.
BrennanK., & MorrisK. A. (1997). Attachment styles, self-esteem, and patterns of seeking feedback from romantic partners. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 23–31.
21.
BrethertonI. (1985). Attachment theory: Retrospect and prospect. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1–2, Serial No. 209).
22.
BrethertonI. (1990). Open communication and internal working models: Their role in the development of attachment relationships. In ThompsonR. A., Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 36, pp. 57–113). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
23.
BridgesL. J., & GrolnickW. S. (1995). The development of emotional self-regulation in infancy and early childhood. In EisenbergN., Social development: Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 15, pp. 185–211). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
BylsmaW. H., CozzarelliC., & SumerN. (1997). Relation between adult attachment styles and global self-esteem. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 19, 1–16.
25.
CarnelleyK. B., & Janoff-BulmanR. (1992). Optimism about love relationships: General vs. specific lessons from one's personal experiences. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 9, 5–20.
26.
CarnelleyK. B., PietromonacoP. R., & JaffeK. (1994). Depression, working models of others, and relationship functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 127–140.
27.
CarnelleyK. B., PietromonacoP. R., & JaffeK. (1996). Attachment, caregiving, and relationship functioning in couples: Effects of self and partner. Personal Relationships, 3, 257–278.
28.
CassidyJ. (2000). Adult romantic attachments: A developmental perspective on individual differences. Review of General Psychology, 4, 111–131.
29.
CassidyJ., & KobakR. (1988). Avoidance and its relation to other defensive processes. In BelskyJ. & NezworskiT., Clinical implications of attachment theory (pp. 300–323). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
30.
ChappellK. D., & DavisK. E. (1998). Attachment, partner choice, and perceptions of romantic partners: An experimental test of the attachment-security hypothesis. Personal Relationships, 5, 327–342.
31.
CollinsN. L. (1996). Working models of attachment: Implications for explanation, emotion, and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 810–832.
32.
CollinsN., & ReadS. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 644–663.
33.
CollinsN., & ReadS. J. (1994). Cognitive representations of attachment: The structure and function of working models. In PerlmanD. & BartholomewK., Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 5, pp. 53–90). London: Jessica Kingsley.
34.
CooleyC. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York: Schocken Books.
35.
CozzarelliC., HoekstraS., & BylsmaW. (in press). General versus specific mental models of attachment: Are they associated with different outcomes?Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
36.
CrittendenP. M. (1990). Internal representational models of attachment relationships. Infant Mental Health Journal, 11, 259–277.
37.
DamasioA. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York: Grossett/Putnam.
38.
DozierM., & KobakR. R. (1992). Psychophysiology in attachment interviews: Converging evidence for deactivating strategies. Child Development, 63, 1473–1480.
39.
EisenbergN., & FabesR. A. (1992). Emotion, regulation, and the development of social competence. In ClarkM. S., Emotion and social behavior: Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 119–150). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
40.
FeeneyJ. A., & NollerP. (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 281–291.
41.
FeeneyJ. A., NollerP., & CallanV. J. (1994). Attachment style, communication and satisfaction in the early years of marriage. In PerlmanD. & BartholomewK., Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 5, pp. 269–308). London: Jessica Kingsley.
42.
Feldman BarrettL., McCabeJ., CostaJ., BevaquaL., & BlissM. (1999, August). Explicit versus implicit measures of attachment. Paper presented at the 107th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Boston.
43.
FishteinJ., PietromonacoP. R., & Feldman BarrettL. (1999). The contribution of attachment style and relationship conflict to the complexity of relationship knowledge. Social Cognition, 17, 228–244.
44.
FoxN. A., KimmerlyN. L., & SchaferW. D. (1991). Attachment to mother/attachment to father: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 62, 210–225.
45.
FraleyR. C., & DavisK. E. (1997). Attachment formation and transfer in young adults’ close friendships and romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 4, 131–144.
46.
FraleyR. C., DavisK. E., & ShaverP. R. (1998). Dismissing-avoidance and the defensive organization of emotion, cognition, and behavior. In SimpsonJ. A. & RholesW. S., Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 249–279). New York: Guilford Press.
47.
FraleyR. C., & ShaverP. R. (1997). Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1080–1091.
48.
FraleyR. C., & ShaverP. R. (1998). Airport separations: A naturalistic study of adult attachment dynamics in separating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1198–1212.
49.
FraleyR. C., & ShaverP. R. (2000). Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions. Review of General Psychology, 4, 132–154.
50.
FraleyR. C., & WallerN. G. (1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In SimpsonJ. A. & RholesW. S., Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 77–114). New York: Guilford Press.
51.
FrazierP. A., ByerA. L., FischerA. R., WrightD. M., & DeBordK. A. (1996). Adult attachment style and partner choice: Correlational and experimental findings. Personal Relationships, 3, 117–136.
52.
GreenwaldA. G., & BanajiM. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102, 1–27.
53.
GreenwaldA. G., McGheeD. E., & SchwartzJ. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464–1480.
54.
GriffinD., & BartholomewK. (1994). Models of self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying models of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430–445.
55.
GrossJ. J., SuttonS. K., & KetelaarT. (1998). Relations between affect and personality: Support for the affect-level and affective reactivity views. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 279–288.
56.
HalberstadtJ. B., & NiedenthalP. M. (1997). Emotional state and the use of stimulus dimensions in judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1017–1033.
57.
HazanC., & ShaverP. R. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.
58.
HazanC., & ShaverP. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 270–280.
59.
HazanC., & ShaverP. R. (1994). Attachment as an organizational framework for research on close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 5, 1–22.
60.
HigginsE. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.
61.
HinkleyK., & AndersenS. M. (1996). The working self-concept in transference: Significant other activation and self change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1279–1295.
62.
KihlstromJ. F., & KleinS. B. (1994). The self as a knowledge structure. In WyerR. S.Jr., & SrullT. K., Handbook of social cognition (2nd ed., (pp. 153–208). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
63.
KirkpatrickL. A., & DavisK. E. (1994). Attachment style, gender, and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 502–512.
64.
KirkpatrickL. A., & ShaverP. R. (1992). An attachment-theoretical approach to romantic love and religious belief. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 266–275.
65.
KlohnenE. C., & BeraS. (1998). Behavioral and experiential patterns of avoidantly and securely attached women across adulthood: A 31-year longitudinal perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 211–223.
66.
KlohnenE. C., & JohnO. P. (1998). Working models of attachment: A theory-based prototype approach. In SimpsonJ. A. & RholesW. S., Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 115–140). New York: Guilford Press.
67.
KobakR. R. (1994). Adult attachment: A personality or relationship construct?Psychological Inquiry, 5, 42–44.
68.
LutzC. A. (1990). Engendered emotion: Gender, power and the rhetoric of emotional control in American discourse. In LutzC. A. & Abu-LughodL., Language and the politics of emotion (pp. 69–91). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
69.
MainM. (1991). Metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive monitoring, and singular (coherent) vs. multiple (incoherent) model of attachment: Findings and directions for future research. In C. M. Parkes, J. Stevenson-Hinde, & P. Marris (Eds.), Attachment across the life cycle (pp. 127–159). London: Tavistock/Routledge.
70.
MainM., KaplanK., & CassidyJ. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1–2, Serial No. 209).
71.
MainM., & WestonD. R. (1982). Avoidance of the attachment figure in infancy: Descriptions and interpretations. In ParkesC. M. & Stevenson-HindeJ., The place of attachment in human behavior (pp. 31–59). New York: Basic Books.
72.
MarkusH. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63–78.
73.
MarkusH., & CrossS. (1990). The interpersonal self. In PervinL. A., Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 576–608). New York: Guilford Press.
74.
MarkusH. R., & KitayamaS. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
75.
MarkusH., & KundaZ. (1986). Stability and malleability of the self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 858–866.
76.
MarkusH., & NuriusP. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.
77.
MarkusH., & WurfE. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: A social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, 299–337.
78.
McGuireW. J., & McGuireC. V. (1988). Content and process in the experience of self. In BerkowitzL., Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 97–144). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
79.
MeadG. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
80.
MikulincerM. (1995). Attachment style and the mental representation of the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1203–1215.
81.
MikulincerM. (1998a). Adult attachment style and affect regulation: Strategic variations in self-appraisals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 420–435.
82.
MikulincerM. (1998b). Adult attachment style and affect regulation: Strategic variations in subjective self-other similarity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 436–448.
83.
MikulincerM. (1998c). Attachment working models and the sense of trust: An exploration of interaction goals and affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1209–1224.
84.
MikulincerM., & FlorianV. (1998). The relationship between adult attachment styles and emotional and cognitive reactions to stressful events. In SimpsonJ. A. & RholesW. A., Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 143–165). New York: Guilford Press.
85.
MikulincerM., FlorianV., & WellerA. (1993). Attachment styles, coping strategies, and post-traumatic psychological distress: The impact of the Gulf War in Israel. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 817–826.
86.
MikulincerM., & NachshonO. (1991). Attachment styles and patterns of self-disclosure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 321–331.
87.
MikulincerM., & OrbachI. (1995). Attachment styles and repressive defensiveness: The accessibility and architecture of affective memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 917–925.
88.
NiedenthalP. M., HalberstadtJ. B., & Innes-KerA. H. (1999). Emotional response categorization. Psychological Review, 106, 337–361.
89.
NiedenthalP. M., HalberstadtJ. B., & SetterlundM. B. (1997). Being happy and seeing “happy”: Emotional state mediates visual word recognition. Cognition and Emotion, 11, 403–432.
90.
NisbettR. E., & WilsonT. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231–259.
91.
OgilvieD. M., & AshmoreR. D. (1991). Self-with-other representations as a unit of analysis in self-concept research. In CurtisR. C., The relational self: Theoretical convergences in psychoanalysis and social psychology (pp. 282–314). New York: Guilford Press.
92.
PietromonacoP. R., & CarnelleyK. B. (1994). Gender and working models of attachment: Consequences for perceptions of self and romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 1, 63–82.
93.
PietromonacoP. R., & Feldman BarrettL. (1997a, October). Internal working models: What do we know about knowing about the self in relation to others?Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
94.
PietromonacoP. R., & Feldman BarrettL. (1997b). Working models of attachment and daily social interactions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1409–1423.
95.
PietromonacoP. R., & Feldman BarrettL. (1999a). Emotional reactivity and emotional regulation: Two affect-related processes underlying attachment dynamics in adulthood. Manuscript in preparation.
96.
PietromonacoP. R., & Feldman BarrettL. (1999b). Working models of attachment and defensive processes. Manuscript in preparation.
97.
RosenbergM. (1988). Self and others: Studies in social personality and autobiography. In BerkowitzL., Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 57–95). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
98.
RossM. (1989). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories. Psychological Review, 96, 341–357.
99.
RothbardJ. C., & ShaverP. R. (1994). Continuity of attachment across the life span. In SperlingM. B. & BermanW. H., Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 31–71). New York: Guilford Press.
100.
RothbartM. K., & DerryberryD. (1981). Development of individual differences in temperament. In LambM. E. & BrownA. L., Advances in developmental psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 37–86). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
101.
SchacterD. L. (1996). Searching for memory: The brain, the mind, and the past. New York: Basic Books.
102.
SchlenkerB. R., & WeigoldM. F. (1989). Goals and the self-identification process: Constructing desired identities. In PervinL. A., Goals concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 243–290). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
103.
ShaverP. R., & BrennanK. (1992). Attachment styles and the “Big Five” personality traits: Their connections with each other and with romantic relationship outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 536–545.
104.
ShaverP. R., CollinsN., & ClarkC. (1996). Attachment styles and internal working models of self and relationship partners. In FletcherG. J. O. & FitnessJ., Knowledge structures in close relationships: A social psychological approach (pp. 25–61). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
105.
ShaverP. R., HazanC., & BradshawD. (1988). Love as attachment: The integration of three behavioral systems. In SternbergR. J. & BarnesM., The psychology of love (pp. 68–99). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
106.
SimpsonJ. A. (1990). The influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 971–980.
107.
SimpsonJ. A., & RholesW. S. (1994). Stress and secure base relationships in adulthood. In BartholomewK. & PerlmanD., Attachment processes in adulthood (pp. 181–204). London: Jessica Kingsley.
108.
SimpsonJ. A., RholesW. S., & NelliganJ. S. (1992). Support seeking and support giving within couples in an anxiety-provoking situation: The role of attachment styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 434–446.
109.
SimpsonJ. A., RholesW. S., & PhillipsD. (1996). Conflict in close relationships: An attachment perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 899–914.
110.
SroufeL. A., & WatersE. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct. Child Development, 48, 1184–1199.
111.
ThompsonR. A., LambM. E., & EstesD. (1983). Harmonizing discordant notes: A reply to Waters. Child Development, 54, 521–524.
112.
TidwellM. O., ReisH. T., & ShaverP. R. (1996). Attachment, attractiveness, and social interaction: A diary study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 729–745.
113.
TomakaJ., & BlascovichJ. (1994). Effects of justice beliefs on cognitive appraisal of and subjective physiological and behavioral response to potential stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 732–740.
114.
TrinkeS. J., & BartholomewK. (1997). Hierarchies of attachment relationships in young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 603–625.
115.
VaughnB. E., EgelandB. R., SroufeL. A., & WatersE. (1979). Individual differences in infant-mother attachment at 12 and 18 months: Stability and change in families under stress. Child Development, 50, 971–975.
116.
WeissR. S. (1982). Attachment in adult life. In ParkesC. M. & Stevenson-HindeJ., The place of attachment in human behavior (pp. 171–184). New York: Basic Books.
117.
WilliamsJ. M. G., MathewsA., & MacLeodC. (1996). The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 3–24.
