Summary.Two experiments are described which are concerned with the development of referential ability in children. In the first, children of normal and of subnormal educational attainment, aged between 4 and 12 years, were asked to describe simple actions. Referential adequacy increased markedly with mental age. The inadequacy of descriptions given by the less mature subjects was largely due to their neglect of the immediate perceived context of the referent.The second experiment, using children in the mental age range of 5 to 7 years, provided evidence that the less mature children's descriptions were significantly less affected by the context than were those of the 7‐year‐olds of normal intelligence. It is suggested that this aspect of referential ability results from general cognitive decentrat