Subjects ranging from preschoolers to professors were asked to choose between pairs of stimulus pseudowords, the one most like a given target word. Unidimensional scale analysis, item analysis, and factor analysis of the data resulted in the following findings: (1) Adults showed a dominant preference to "addition" errors as opposed to errors of changes in letter order. (2) Preschoolers showed a definite lack of preference; those who did show some consistent choice behavior preferred the letter order distortions. (3) The fourth graders had almost reached the preference position of the adults. (4) Half of the second graders were approaching the adult pattern of preference. (5) Poor readers in third and fourth grades were less consistent than better readers in preference choices; they also tended to take a more letter dominated view of similarity. (6) College seniors preferred the second error-word significantly more often than did the elementary children. And (7) Variability of preference between subjects within a group decreased as age increased. On the whole, this study indicated a continuous development in reading styles from a "separate letter conscious" view of words to an emphasis on a "connected letter order" view of words as the reader matured. Tables, figures, appendixes, and references are included. (AW)