Also, although both theorists agree that a disruption of important experiences at each stage may lead to an unhealthy developmental outcome, they disagree with which unhealthy developmental outcomes may result. .
Freud explains the importance of early childhood experience in terms of a number of psychosexual stages that a child must pass through (Berk, 2000). Freud uses the term sexual in a wide context and the word is used to indicate anything that is desirable (Brown, 1976). This is different from Erikson, who explains the importance of early childhood experience in terms of a number of psychosocial stages that a child must pass through (Berk, 2002). Erikson's psychosocial stages include the types of desires that Freud speaks of, but he elaborates on the desires to come up with stages of social development that are less sexual in content (Erikson, 1968). For Freud, early sexual experiences are the experiences that are most important to the development of children (Brown, 1976). For Erikson, sexual experiences underlie, but are not directly responsible for, the development of children (Erikson, 1968). For Erikson, sexual experiences lead to good social outcomes, which in turn lead to the healthy development of children (Erikson, 1968). Erikson tried to bridge the gap between a child's sexual and social growth (Erikson, 1968). .
Freud's first stage of development is called the oral stage (Brown, 1976). In the oral stage, the mouth is the primary organ of pleasure (Brown, 1976). The infant's first object of desire is the breast and the experiences that are most important to the infant in terms of future development involve sucking (Brown, 1976). According to Freud, the infant's desire to suck must be gratified in order for the infant to continue to develop in a healthy manner (Brown, 1976). .
This is different from Erikson's first stage of development, which is called basic trust versus mistrust (Berk, 2000).
