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The goals and strategies formulated by 30 learning disabled (LD) and 30 non-learning disabled (NLD) males at two age levels (8 to 9 and 11 to 12 years) were analyzed. Subjects were interviewed regarding their strategies and goals in four situations involving peer interactions. They were also videotaped during a role play assessment of social skills. Findings revealed that LD subjects produced goals significantly less sophisticated than their NLD peers. Younger boys came up with less friendly strategies and less sophisticated goals than the older ones. Children's goals were strongly correlated with social skillfulness. Overall, the social goals spontaneously developed by LD males appeared to be similar to those of younger children, suggesting a possible deficiency in the cognitive skills necessary to formulate general social rules which would affect their interpersonal functioning. Results highlight the potential role of social goals in the development of problematic peer status in LD children. (Author/CL)