Abstract
The present study examined the role of social interaction in the development of preschool children's cognitive and social cognitive competences. In the cognitive-motor coordination task, children were asked to cooperate with each other to carry out three kinds of activities (pulling, releasing, or blocking of string) to lead a pen target along a predetermined route. Taking into accout the level of subjects' understanding structure of the task, two experimental groups were formed. In group 1 (2H1L), two advanced children were placed together with a less advanced, while in group 2 (1H2L), an advanced child was together with two less advanced. The results suggested that through experiencing interaction with children in the different level of knowledge structure, they got both the improvement of procedual knowledge concerning the task and the modification of "self-other perspectives coordination" for understanding interpersonal cognitive processes. These progresses, however, were varied with the extent to which children could overcome their egocentric negotiation starategies when confronted with socio-cognitive conflict embeded in social interaction.
