How Attachment Shapes Our Future
The attachment you form with your primary caregiver creates what Bowlby called an internal working model—essentially a mental template that guides your expectations for all future relationships. It's like writing the operating instructions for how relationships work based on your very first experience.
This leads to the continuity hypothesis, which suggests that your early attachment style will influence all your later relationships. For example, if you had a secure attachment with your primary caregiver, you're more likely to form secure attachments with friends, romantic partners, and eventually your own children.
Need a way to remember Bowlby's key concepts? Try this memory hook: "All Sweet Children Manipulate Innocent Caregivers" (Adaptive process, Social releasers, Critical period, Monotropy, Internal working model, Continuity hypothesis).
Boost your confidence: Understanding Bowlby's theory isn't just useful for exams—it can help you make sense of your own relationship patterns and how they might have been shaped by your earliest experiences!