This study investigates choice reaction time latencies in three kinds
of stimulus-response ensembles. That is, using a four-choice reaction
time task, three different types of responses (i.e., a pointing, finge
r-lift, or vocal response), were mapped onto the same spatial stimuli.
Results show that reaction time of the more natural (i.e., affordance
compatible) pointing response is more than 100 ms shorter than that o
f the more artificial finger and vocal responses. More critically, how
ever, finger and vocal responses show striking serial position effects
while latency of the pointing response is independent of target posit
ion. This latter outcome is interpreted as being consistent with the v
iew that the specific nature of the stimulus-response relationship may
determine whether an intermediate, stimulus-response translation, sta
ge is needed to link perception and action, or that it is bypassed, al
lowing direct perception-action routines to guide performance. This in
terpretation is compatible with the idea that the information-processi
ng and the ecological frameworks are not mutually exclusive but comple
mentary in that they address different kinds of perception-action phen
omena.