John Bowlby's attachment theory and the internal working model (IWM) synthesize to explain how an infant's personality begins to develop during the early stages of life. Infants actively seek interaction, and it is the nature, consistency and sensitivity of the mother's response to the infant's attachment that determines the development of EIM, this is called reciprocal exchange (Schore, 2000; Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1991). How the IWM develops will then determine the attachment style the infant has with its mother and ultimately the personality traits it will begin to develop.

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