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MENTAL MODEL · M2100

Attachment Theory

Attachment Theory
BehaviorHigh supportDevelopmental Psychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The emotional connection patterns formed between humans and their caregivers during infancy create internal working models that determine their adult intimate relationships. Main types include: secure (confident and trusting others), anxious (insecure and clingy), avoidant (avoiding intimacy, pseudo-independence), and disorganized (love-hate).

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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- Relationship navigation: This is the underlying code for understanding all emotional conflicts. Anxious meeting avoidant is the beginning of tragedy (pursuer-distancer pattern). Understanding your own and your partner's attachment style is the first step to repairing relationships.

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Bowlby proposed that interactions between infants and their primary caregivers form 'internal working models'—unconscious expectations about whether the self is worthy of love and whether others are trustworthy. Ainsworth's 'Strange Situation' experiment distinguished secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized types. In adulthood, these models are projected onto intimate relationships, shaping patterns of closeness, trust, and conflict.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theoryZH · Explicit
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