In this study, representational thought, which involves the child's ability to function in terms of nonpresent reality, is viewed within a cognitive-developmental framework. To see if disadvantaged children would function in the same way as advantaged children on tasks which required representational thought rather than verbalization, children were tested on Picture-Object matching tasks, Spatial Arrangement tasks and in Structured Play situations. There were an equal number of 4- to 5-year-old boys and girls in each group. Scores indicated that the disadvantaged group generally did not perform as well as the advantaged children although there was much variation among individuals tested. Discussion of study findings indicate that preschool programming should encourage representational functioning because it is an important aspect of the child's comprehension and use of language, and because it plays a central role in the child's overall cognitive development. (Author/NH)