Abstract: The relationship between children’s second-order false belief, prosocial behavior and peer acceptance was investigated in a sample of children aged 3 to 6. The result indicated that in general, prosocial behavior was the best predictor of children’s social preference, however, the association of peer acceptance with prosocial behavior and second order false belief changed as a function of children’s age. For children under 5 years of age, second-order false belief was the best predictor of social preference, while prosocial behavior was the best predictor of peer acceptance for older children.

Key words: Theory of mind, Second-order false belief, prosocial behavior, peer acceptance