The individualistic period between eight and twelve is the era in which the boy regards himself as an individual not correlated to other individuals of society. He is essentially selfish, and individualism is his dominant characteristic. He has an excessive and exclusive regard for his personal interests. The great world of men forming society is beyond his perceptions. His thoughts chiefly concern himself and seldom embrace others, except when they cause him pleasure, annoyance, or pain. He recognizes them only as they contribute to his emotions. This tendency manifests itself in the selfishness exhibited in play and his unwillingness to perform the trifling services required of him by his elders, if they in any way interfere with his present enjoyment. Sociological consciousness, with its recognition of the duties and obligations of the individual toward the mass of individuals termed society, is still dormant. Its first awakening is seen in his recognition of duty toward his family, and later toward his playmates and friends, and last of all toward society--which is reached in the reflective period. His mental horizon is bounded entirely by his own activities and interests in which he is the central figure. Carelessness, forgetfulness, and thoughtlessness of others are incidents common to childhood which gradually wane and disappear at the age when he enters the reflective period. As he lives in the immediate present, he does not plan for the future--not even for the morrow. Johnny comes home to supper from the playground, whirling through the house with cyclonic energy and leaving a trail of gloves, hat, overcoat, and superfluous garments in his wake, intent on the only thing which is of absorbing interest to him at that moment--his immediate presence at table to alleviate the excruciating pangs of hunger which are gnawing at his vitals. Everything else is forgotten in his efforts to satisfy the desires of the present. The next morning, when preparations for school are begun, all remembrance of the places where his wearing apparel was deposited is forgotten. Then ensues the daily hunt for the missing garments, interspersed with vociferous requests to all members of the household for assistance. The interrogatory, “Where’s my hat?” is as common as oatmeal for breakfast. Order and system have little place in a routine which is regulated by present necessity.