A model describing the cognitive processes in which a child must engage in order to respond competently in social situations is presented in this document as the framework for several series of studies dealing with provocation by peers. A major tenet of the model is that in order to perform competently in a social situation the child must first process cues in an orderly fashion. According to the model, children come to a particular social situation or task with a data base (their memory store) and a set of programmed directives (goals), and they receive as input from the environment a set of social cues. Their behavioral response to those cues occurs as a function of their progression through several cognitive steps. Each sequential step is a necessary but insufficient part of competent responding. Effective or competent behavior occurs only following the successful completion of all steps. A series of studies is described which investigate this model of social cognitive processing as it applies to boys' aggressive behavior. Results indicate that aggressive boys are more likely than nonaggressive boys to interpret a peer as hostile and to act in hostile ways. Furthermore, selective recall of hostile cues is a significant predictor, or mediator, of an interpretation of peer hostility. (Author/JA)