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At the intersection of social and cognitive development: internal working models of attachment in infancy

Susan C Johnson1, Carol S Dweck, Frances S Chen

  • 1Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University Department of Psychology, Stanford University Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg.

Cognitive Science
|May 14, 2011
PubMed

Three visual habituation studies using abstract animations tested the claim that infants' attachment behavior in the Strange Situation procedure corresponds to their expectations about caregiver-infant interactions. Three unique patterns of expectations were revealed. Securely attached infants expected infants to seek comfort from caregivers and expected caregivers to provide comfort. Insecure-resistant infants not only expected infants to seek comfort from caregivers but also expected caregivers to withhold comfort. Insecure-avoidant infants expected infants to avoid seeking comfort from caregivers and expected caregivers to withhold comfort. These data support Bowlby's (1958) original claims-that infants form internal working models of attachment that are expressed in infants' own behavior.

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