The objective of this research was to develop a preliminary Perceived Story Quality Index to assess laypersons' views of story quality. Research to date has not employed a standard measure of perceived quality, nor reported whether different lay-raters judge stories similarly. The study involved systematically generating core dimensions of perceived story quality and addressing whether (a) lay-raters of different ages and genders evaluate story quality consistently and (b) multiple dimensions of story quality form a general factor (i.e., an index). Sixteen lay-raters judged 129 autobiographical and fictional stories. Analyses show that young and older men and women lay-raters judged story quality consistently (i.e., share an implicit theory) and that quality ratings form a unitary factor. This structure holds for both types of stories and is maintained across age and gender. The discussion focuses on the scope and limitations of the developed preliminary Perceived Story Quality Index. (Contains 2 footnotes and 3 tables.)