Out of the massive contributions made to developmental psychology, no psychologist had made a more significant contribution than Erik Erikson. As a young man, Erikson was highly influenced by the Freud family and their school of thought. However, Erikson disagreed with the Freudian concept of psychosexual stages, the idea that humans undergo stages of development and resolve basic conflicts by physical and pleasurable gratification (Santrock, 22). “According to Freud, the primary motivation for human behavior is sexual in nature according to Erikson, it is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people,” (Santrock, 23). Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory is a well rounded view of life- span development, it incorporates important conflicts during each stage of development that most people can relate to and apply to their own development.

Erikson’s theory has eight stages of development and a corresponding age range for each stage. The first stage is known as trust versus mistrust, which occurs from birth to a child’s first year, during this stage the infant learns that he or she is able to either trust the caregiver or develop a distrust of their caregiver. The second stage is known as autonomy versus shame and doubt, during this stage the child, usually 1 to 3 years of age, learns to either develop their own autonomy and independence or if reprimanded too severely they will develop shame when exerting independence.

The third stage is known as initiative versus guilt, which occurs from ages 3- 6, in this stage the child uses their newfound independence to cultivate his or her self efficacy and if the child is discouraged from doing so he or she may develop guilt about taking initiative. The fourth stage, industry versus inferiority, occurs between ages 6-11, when the child experiences elementary school, during this stage the child either masters their