Abstract
Twenty-five years have passed since I entered the teaching profession in Juntendo, and 40 or more years since I began to engage in research in graduate school. My major is psychology and my themes of research were classified into two topics. The first topic is moral development. I had been working on this topic since my thesis for my Master’s degree, which was based on Kohlberg’s theory, and the first research in Japan. I introduced his theory and carried out a number of studies related to moral development. I review the trends of psychological research on moral development as follows: 1. before Kohlberg, 2. Kohlberg’s theory, and 3. current trends - after Kohlberg. The second topic is interpersonal framework, which is based mainly on Bowlby’s attachment theory (internal working models (IWM), which is a mental representation and operates as a framework). I have carried out my research on nursing students in Juntendo as participants, and have been continuing these studies longitudinally after they graduated from university. I review adult attachment as follows: 1. Bowlby’s adult attachment theory and related research, 2. the stability and changeability of IWM over the lifespan, and 3. factors contributing to IWM or adaptation in adulthood.
