A fuzzy logical model of letter identification.

Stimuli were generated by factorially varying two sets of features that distinguish between two letter patterns. Subjects rated the degree to which each stimulus was an instance of one letter rather than the alternative. The obtained ratings were relatively continuous and systematic functions of the feature manipulations. The results were well accounted for by a model in which (a) each feature has an associated fuzzy predicate that is used to independently evaluate the degree to which it is true that the feature is present in the stimulus; (b) the featural truth values are integrated according to fuzzy logical expressions that correspond directly to propositional descriptions of each letter pattern; and (c) the resulting goodness of match to the stimulus for each letter is compared to that of the alternatives to determine the final identification.