The folk tale is the older form, and it is oral and communal. The fairy tale is a literary production modelled to a greater or lesser extent on folk tales. Nevertheless, the most successful fairy tales usually exhibit the same kind of sociopsychological effect that Fischer sees in the folk tale. More specific characters, often with greater interiority and developed personality. Greater description of individuals and of settings.
Repetition tends to be minimized as distracting from flow of story.