To determine which Quick Style type is applied only to selected words or individual characters within a paragraph in MS Word 2010, we must understand the purpose and usage of different style types in MS Word:

1. Page Styles: These styles are used to define the layout, margins, and overall appearance of an entire page or a document. They do not apply to individual words or characters within a paragraph. Thus, this is not the correct option.
2. Linked Styles: These styles can act as either a paragraph or character style, depending on what is selected when the style is applied. However, they are primarily used to apply styles to paragraphs. While they can be used for characters, they are not limited to them, making this option less specific than the correct one.
3. Character Styles: These styles are designed specifically to apply to selected words or characters within a paragraph. They allow changes to text font, color, size, and other attributes without affecting the whole paragraph. For this reason, Character styles are indeed the correct answer as they target the individual text elements.
4. Paragraph Styles: These are used to apply formatting to a whole paragraph, including alignment, line spacing, etc. They cannot be confined to just selected words or characters. Therefore, this is not the correct option.

Based on the above analysis, the Character styles are specifically used for formatting selected words or individual characters within a paragraph in MS Word 2010. This makes them the correct answer option.

In summary, the correct option is clearly Character styles, as it is specifically designed for formatting individual selections within a larger text block.