Abstract: Standardized social perpspective taking stories were used as measures to determinethe social perspective--taking ability of children respectively from the top class ofkindergarden and grade 2, 4 and 6 of elementary school. Children's experience ofpeer social interactions was measured via videotaping observation for the kindergardenchildren and Peer assessment for the elementary school children. The main purposesof the present study were focused on the development of children's social perspectivetaking, and its relation to their social experience of peer interactions. The resultindicated: (1) The 6--years olds still had diffculties in their social perspective taking,while the fourth graders of elementary schools (about 10 years old) could makecorrect inference of other's perspectives using the story information. Childrenexperienced a rapid growth in their social perspective--taking ability from age 6 to 10.(2) No gender differences were found in children's social perspective--taking ability. (3)Children's social perspective-taking ability was closely related to their experience ofpeer interactions Children's peer interaction had a positive effect on the developmentof their social perspective--taking ability, and the isolated children extremely lacking ofexperience of peer interactions lagged behind their highly sociable peers in thedevelopment of social perspective--taking.

Key words: social perpspective-taking, development, peer interaction, relation ofsocial perspective--acing to peer interaction