Erik Erikson was a German-American developmental psychologist born in 1902 who developed one of the most widely accepted theories of psychosocial development. He proposed that social experience plays a key role in development across eight stages of the lifespan, from infancy to late adulthood. Erikson was influenced by Freud and studied under Anna Freud, going on to teach at Harvard, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his theory of eight psychosocial stages focusing on developing trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity.