Sigmund Freud was a psychoanalyst who developed his theory of psychoanalysis in the late 19th century. The neo-Freudians were psychologists who expanded upon Freud’s theories and developed new ones.
Freud was a pioneer in psychology, but he did not develop his theories without criticism. As his theories were being developed, other psychologists began to question whether they were accurate or if they could be improved upon. This led to a movement of psychologists who called themselves “neo-Freudians.”
The main difference between Sigmund Freud and the neo-Freudians is that the neo-Freudians expanded on Freud’s ideas and developed new theories. For example, Karen Horney disagreed with Freud’s idea that we are all born with aggressive sexual instincts that must be repressed by society. She believed instead that we are born with an instinctive need for affection from our parents, which is then repressed by society. In addition, they used different methods to study behavior. For example, they studied dreams, slips of the tongue and parapraxes (unconscious mistakes).
The first generation of neo-Freudian psychologists included Alfred Adler, Carl Jung and Karen Horney. These psychologists believed that people were motivated by one of two primary instincts: Eros (creativity) or Thanatos (destruction). They also believed that personality could change over time due to social influences such as culture and religion.
The second generation was led by Erik Erikson and included Harry Stack Sullivan and Erich Fromm. These psychologists focused on social development from birth through adolescence into adulthood.
