Erik Erikson, well known in the field of mental health, devised a theory of psychosocial development which suggests that there are life challenges inherent in each life stage for each individual, ranging from birth until death. The thinking is that as an individual passes thorugh each life stage, there exists a respective devlopmental "task", the resolution of which falls somewhere on a continuum  between positively and negatively resolved.

The theory also suggests that the resolution of each task is dependent upon the resolution of the stages which preced it. In this way, development can be seen as a series of building blocks, one atop the other with the resolutions of each life stage being the foundations for future development. Beliefs about the self come about as a result of the resolution of each stage and form the basis of life activity.

The implication for this as a psychosocial theory rests on the premise that that growth and development are interactive and therefore, require an outside source, namely the parents/ caretakers. The mirroring and responsiveness of the parents contribute significantly to the outcomes of the ways in which life tasks are r esolved by the individual, particluarly during childhood, but additionally, throughout life in the beliefs about the self linger into adulthood.

Development proceeds in a reciprocal fashion. Just as parents teach thier children, children ultimately teach their parents how to be parents, by pulling from them the responsiveness they need. In this way the feedback loop heightens growth for each in their respective life tasks.