The Epigenetic Principle and Success Human development can be described as an assembly line in the factory of life. While we can do our best to understand the machines that move the product through the chain, all we know is what can be seen from outside the doors. There are several theories about how the factory works, but we have no way of getting inside. Some of the best theories come from Abraham Maslow and Erik Erikson, whose conclusions apply well to the majority of humans. Both Maslow and Erikson believe in a linear progression when it comes to human development. The main concept that links these two theories is the epigenetic principle, which states that steps are obligatory and must be taken to proceed. Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who had a humanistic approach to human development. Maslow believed that humans are internally motivated to meet certain needs before others. This theory became known as the hierarchy of needs. The earliest and most widely used version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs appeared in 1943 and includes five motivational needs. These needs have been placed inside a pyramid to illustrate that one need must be satisfied to move on to the next. This five-step model can be divided into two categories: deficiency needs and growth needs. The base layer and the next three layers all fall under the category of deficiency needs. The base of the pyramid is called physiological needs and includes air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. These are all biological and physiological needs that must be satisfied to move to the second level of the pyramid. “It is very true that man lives only on bread – even though there is no bread. But what happens to man's desires when there is plenty of bread and... middle of paper ... is that as a teacher I have to take the time to evaluate my students. Students who act out or commit acts like cheating are not inherently bad. In fact, most children who do this are simply crying out for help. If I can make it a goal to listen to these cries for help, I can help my students in their own development. I hope I can look back on this as a breakthrough in my career and deal with issues similar to mine.BibliographyBoeree, George C., Dr. "Erik Erikson". Erik Erikson. Webspace.ship.edu, 2009. Web. April 25, 2014.Cherry, Kendra. “Hierarchy of needs”. About.com Psychology. About.com, and Web. April 25, 2014. McLeod, S.A. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.htmlMcLeod, S.A. (2008). Erik Erikson. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html.