Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-21
HOW BOYS BEHAVE
AT DIFFERENT AGE
LEVELS IS SHOWN
Study in Washington School
Gives Method of Measur-
ing Progress of Growth.
EXPLAINS "SISSIES" AND
EARLY LOVE AFFAIRS
DR.. Furfey's Work Considered Real
Advance in Science by Local
E. Psychologists.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Love desn't come so early to American
boys as is generally supposed.
This is the case, at least, if the boys
at st. Martins Parochial School, at First
and T streets northeast, are a fair sam
pie OF American boyhood, according to
Rev. DR.. Paul Hanley Furfey, pSycholo-
gist of Catholic University, who has
made an intensive study Of them for the
past four years.
Among the symptoms for which Dr.
Furfey looked in the growing youngsters,
as indicating transition from one stage
of life to another were the first love
affairs. He found only about IS per
cent of the 14-to-15-year age group
which he studied had best girls" al
though he had expected this sign to ap-
pear somewhat earlier and develop
faster.
Tells Purpose of Study.
The appearance of the best girl" was
only one out of many developments
which DR.. Furfey studied among these
boys, ranging from to 1S years of age
The purpose of the study, which DR.
Furfey outlined to group of psycholo-
gists at the Washington Child Research
Center last night, was To work out sys-
tenn of measuring the "developmental
are carrying out the same study with
large group of Washington girls.
It has been observed for long time,
the psychologist explained, that children
pass through various stages marked by
distinctive behavior but hitherto there
has been much confusion over the ma
ture, time of duration and time of ap-
pearance of these stages. DR.. Furfey's
study among the boys of st. Martins
School has led him to take as basis
for his work three distinct stages.
No Team Work" From to 10.
The first, extending roughly from 6
to 10 is the individualiStic stage. Boys
and girls play together without any
self-conSciousneSS, but nearly all play
is individual. The children cannot be
organized into teams and work together.
Children at this stage, he said, may
tell one that they play such games as
base ball and foot ball, requiring team
work, but they actually only throw or
kick balls as individuals. When an
attempt is made to organize a team
eveiJ child wants to play every position.
At st. Martins School DR.. Furfey or
ganized a unique Boy Scout troop which
accepted every boy who applied for
membership regardless of age. Boys in
the individualistic. age did not want to
Join and could hardly be induced to
join ne said. They were not at all
interested in being members of social
group.
Normally, somewhere between the
ninth and eleventh years, he said,
great change comes about. The boys
pass into the gang" age. They want
to be Boy Scouts. They flt naturally
into teams and take pride in the VIC
tories of their teams. Close friend
ships are formed with other boys. The
child no longer is primarily an in
dividual. interested only in himself.
Aversion to Girls Appears.
Another curious change which comes
about at the same time is the aversion
of boys for girls: They are ashamed
to be seen with the other sex and say
that they hate" girls.
Among the boys of st. Martins
School, he said, this stage continued
normally until somewhere between the
thirteenth and fifteenth year, when
the period of adolescence sets in with
marked changes in behavior The boys
become interested in girls and lose
their aversion. Love affairs appear. The
boy takes more pride in his appearance,
begins to have dates and takes an in
terest in such things as dancing.
Another marked change, he said, is
in the attitude of the boys toward
authority. Before they seem to have
accepted blindly the orders of any one
who claimed authority over them. Now
they begin to question the source of
the authority and to obey only if they
can convince themselves that it has
a sound basis. The gang" begins to
fall. apart and the boys probably never
again feel the same loyalties to each
other.
DR.. Furfey divided these activities
and interests of the boys of st. Martins
School into age groups by checking the
ages OF the majority of the boys who
displayed them. This classification was
accepted as standard.
Fairly Close With Majority.
With the majority of boys, DR.. Furfey
said, the relationship is fairly close be-
tween the characteristic activities and
the chronological ages. But some boys
fall into the groups above or below what
would be expected from their chrono-
logical ages, showing a retarded or &C
CELEBRATED development in characteristic
behavior. DR.. Furfey has worked out a
scale for measuring this acceleration or
retardation with considerable eXactneSS
and this was characterized by promi-
nent psychologists who heard his report
last night as probably a notable scien-
tific contribution, for there is little
doubt that the method of measurement
developed at St. Martins School can
be applied to almost any normal group
of boys in the United States.
For long time, 1t was pointed out,
educators have been measuring the in
'telligence of children by standardized
tests, by which the mental status of the
individual Is checked against that which
has been found to be normal for chill
dren of the same age. This Is conSid-
cred one OF the great developments in
educational science in modern times
But intelligence is only one Of the eS-
sential qualities of a human being
which determine success and happiness
in life. DR.. Furfey, 1t was pointed out,
may have hit upon a means of meas
urtng another with an approximately
equal degree of exactness.
"DeVelopmental age" he said, may
be some subjective factor in the human
being analogous to intelligence"
Scores Fail to BE Related.
He has checked his developmental
age scores of the Washington boys
against their intelligence scores and
found practically no relationship at all.
Boys three or four years accelerated in
their mental development were some
times found three or four years retarded
in their characteristic behavior The OPP
posite may also be true, he pointed out.
He found closer relationship between
the characteristic activity stages of boys
and their physical growth. Generally
the taller and heavier boy was further
advanced in his activity preferences
than the boy Of the same age less de-
veloped physically. The relation, how