The major objective of this study was to explore how preschool children's ability to delay gratification was affected when children were asked to attend to actual rewards rather than pictures of rewards. Sixty subjects, 3 to 5 years of age, were given a choice between two rewards and then placed in a delay of gratification situation. Half of the subjects were left in the waiting situation with the real reward present, and the other half had a realistic picture of the reward in front of them. Subjects were either instructed to pretend that the real or pictured reward was real, to pretend that the real or pictured reward was pictured, or the subject was not given any additional instructions. Results showed that having the actual reward object in front of the subject presented as real led to low delay of gratification and pictures of the reward, presented as pictures, facilitated delay. However, these effects were reversed by instructing the child to construe the actual object as pictured, and the pictured object as real. (BRT)