The influence of similarity, sensitivity and bias on letter identification

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that bias, sensitivity and similarity between letters are causes of errors in letter identification. However, these factors and their relative contribution in letter identification have not been investigated extensively. Our previous model (noisy template model) was devised to calculate the effect of bias and sensitivity in letter identification task. In the current study, we used the method of constant stimuli to measure letter acuity for Sloan letters at an eccentricity of 7 deg from fixation (temporal visual field). Similar to our previous work, we devised an tested a variety of models to estimate the joint role of bias and sensitivity, but extended our model to also incorporate the similarity between letters. Modelling results showed that bias is the major factor in determining the pattern of total, correct and incorrect responses in letter identification. Furthermore, the joint effect of similarity and bias was found to be higher than the joint effect of either bias and sensitivity or similarity and sensitivity in shaping the pattern of overall responses in letter identification. Incorporating the similarity factor to the noisy template model improved our understanding of the simultaneous contribution of the bias, sensitivity and similarity between letters in the letter identification task.