The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,—­for instance, take any of the running games.  With little boys they are unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity.  The running is more or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the legs and trunk.  Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to do.  The mere “follow” instinct is strong, and they run after each other.  The beginnings of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less friendly tussles they have.  The stage of the gregarious instinct is shown by the fact that they all play together.  Later with boys of nine or ten the play has become a game, with rules governing it.  The general physical activity has been replaced by a specialized form.  Imitation is less of a factor.  The hunting instinct often appears unexpectedly, and in the midst of the play the elements of the chase interfere with the proper conduct of the game.  The fighting instinct is strong, and is very easily aroused.  The boys now play in gangs or groups, and the tendency towards leadership manifests itself within the group.  The intellectual element appears again and again, in planning the game, in judging of the possibility of succeeding at different stages, or in settling disputes that are sure to arise.  So it is with all the plays of children:  they are complexes of the various tendencies present, and the controlling elements change as the inner development continues.

All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common characteristics.  First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake.  The process is satisfying in itself.  Results may come naturally, but they are not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not primarily the result, but rather the whole activity.  Second, the activity is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner need, and only by indulging in it can the need be satisfied.  It uses neurone tracts that were “ready.”  Growing out of these two major characteristics are several others.  The attention is free and immediate; much energy is used with comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and initiative are freely displayed.

At the other extreme of activity is drudgery.  Its characteristics are just the opposite of these.  First, the activity is engaged in merely for the result—­the process counting for nothing and the result being the only thing of value.  Second, the process, instead of satisfying some need, is rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one engaged.  It uses neurone tracts that are not “ready” and at the same time prevents the action of tracts that are “ready.”  It becomes a task.  The attention necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which fatigue comes quickly as a result of divided attention, results are poor, and there is no chance for initiative.