In what ways did the neo-Freudians change Freudian psychoanalysis?
Many psychologists were in the favor of Freud’ theory of psychoanalysis; however, some of them favored its modification and extension. Amongst the Freud’s loyalists were his daughter, Anna Freud and Melanie Klein. They believed in the extension of the ego theory. They proposed that the individuals are attendants of ego, rather than the id.
According to the ego psychology, ego acts independently of the id. It has the energy of its own. This energy is not extracted from the id and is separately functional. In Freud’s perspective, ego always acts as a servant to the id, never getting free of its call. Neo-Freudian psychologists also proposed that the ego is unconfined to the id’s conflicts, generated when its impulses are squeezed for fulfillment.
Neo-Freudian also proposed that the biological impacts play less important role in the development of the personality of an individual. Instead of the biological impact, psychological and the social forces were given more importance in shaping the individual’s personality. They also said that psychosocial forces, instead of psychosexual forces, are more important in development of the personality.
Hence, during childhood, social interactions have a critical importance in the personality development of children. The movement of ego psychology was led by Ann Freud. She took the subject of child’s analysis and used her knowledge in treating children with less verbal skill and immaturity.