Reading is defined operationally as the cognitive process of perceiving and ordering our environment. As such it is a psychomotor process involving the reorganization of experiences evoked by some stimulus. Thus defined, reading is equated with perception and has several primary functions, including concept building, which begins with perception and continues through abstraction and generalization formation. Reading then becomes a means of attaining an ability to meet, understand, and deal with environment. References are included. (MD)