The purpose of this study was to identify features of young children's behavior that contribute to effective problem solving. A total of 24 children 4 and 5 years of age, half from low socioeconomic status (SES) families and half from high, were observed while performing perceptual/performance cognitive tasks. Five tasks were presented. All test sessions were videotaped, and observers coded behavior using a continuous time sampling procedure. Three mutually exclusive state codes measured duration of behavior; these were attention, attention and on-task manipulation, and off-task behavior. Five event codes measured task talk, visual scanning, trial and error responding, impulsive responding, and helpless confirmation seeking. Frequency of behavior that reflected problem solving strategies was recorded. Findings revealed that two of the behavior categories, "helpless confirmation seeking" and "task talk," were associated with 77 percent of the variance in test performance. Significant SES differences were found in all of the five categories of observed behavior, except "task talk." Results are discussed in terms of functional variables that are responsible for SES differences in performance.(RH)