Discussion focuses on ways in which Dodge's (1986) five-step model of social information processing, which has previously been used in organizing knowledge about the cognitive mediators of aggression among children, can be used to enhance the understanding of prosocial behavior. The model describes cognitive steps thought necessary to children's appropriate and competent action in social situations, namely: (1) encoding social cues, (2) interpreting behavior, (3) generating alternative responses, (4) choosing a response after evaluating potential consequences of alternatives, and (5) performing the chosen response. This paper reviews Dodge's general model of the role of cognition in social behavior; illustrates the usefulness of the model in a summary discussion of the extent to which the model has advanced understanding of aggressive behavior; and points out ways in which the model might be applied to the study of prosocial behavior. Supplementing the discussion is a summary of research findings on ways in which kindergarten and eighth-grade children view the relationship between altruistic behavior and the altruistic person's affective state. Suggestions indicate how such findings can be assimilated to Dodge's model. It is argued that, while much of what is presently known about cognitive factors in prosocial behavior can be assimilated to Dodge's model, large gaps exist in the knowledge of such processing; Dodge's model is useful in generating hypotheses to fill those gaps. (RH)