Mental representations of self and others in relationships, formed through early attachment experiences and used to guide expectations and behaviors in future relationships. These cognitive-emotional templates operate largely outside conscious awareness.
Coined by John Bowlby in the 1970s, combining 'internal' from Latin 'internus' (within), 'working' (actively functioning), and 'model' from Latin 'modulus' (measure, pattern). Bowlby borrowed the concept from cognitive psychology to explain how early relationship experiences create lasting mental blueprints.
Your internal working model is like having a relationship GPS that was programmed in infancy - it automatically navigates you toward familiar relationship patterns, even if they lead to dead ends! The tricky part is that these models feel like 'truth' rather than learned patterns that can be updated.
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