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Three experiments using rats and the conditioned emotional response procedure examined the notion that when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with a reinforcer (US), that CS must be ambiguous if the CS-US association is to become the target of conditional control. CS ambiguity was manipulated by varying whether the CS had been preexposed prior to conditioning. In Experiments 1 and 2, it was demonstrated that a cue that accompanied pairings of a CS and shock acquired conditional control over the CS-shock association when that CS had been preexposed, but not when it was novel. The measure of conditional control in Experiments 1 and 2 was the ability of the (conditional) cue to enhance responding to the target CS. Experiment 3 used a blocking procedure to show that this enhancement reflected an amplification of the target CS's effective associative strength. These findings extend existing knowledge of the conditions required for conditional cue formation.

The concept of conditioning as signalization proposed by Ivan P. Pavlov (1927Pavlov ( , 1928 is studied in relation to the theory of stimulus-substitution, which is also attributed to him. In the so-called theory of stimulus-substitution a distinction must be made between an empirical principle of substitution and an actual theory of substitution, which can adopt different forms. The Pavlovian theory of substitution-which conceives substitution as a substitution of the unconditioned stimulus (US) by the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the activation of the representation of the former-can be understood as an explanation or model of signalization. Signalization and substitution are answers to different questions, and the level of analysis to which signalization corresponds, is that which concerns the nature of conditioning as an operation of the animal in the environment. Keywords: Pavlovian conditioning, signalization, substitutionEl concepto del condicionamiento como señalización propuesto por Ivan P. Pavlov (1927, 1828) es estudiado en relación a la teoría de la sustitución del estímulo, también atribuída al fisiólogo ruso. En la así llamada teoría de la sustitución del estímulo debe hacerse una distinción entre un principio empírico de sustitución y una auténtica teoría de la sustitución, que puede adoptar formas diversas. La teoría pavloviana de la sustitución -que la concibe como una sustitución del estímulo incondicionado por el estímulo condicionado en la activación de la representación del primero-puede entenderse como una explicación o modelo de señalización. Señalización y sustitución son respuestas a diferentes preguntas y el nivel de análisis al que corresponde la señalización es el que concierne a la naturaleza del condicionamiento como una operación del animal en su medio ambiente. Palabras clave: condicionamiento pavloviano, señalización, sustitución

These short notes describe the way in which Skinner considers and resolves his differences with Pavlov in the question of the relation between psychology and physiology as forms of knowledge. After establishing his viewpoint in the general epistemological issue, Skinner is concerned about linking his study of behavior to the work of Pavlov, who considered it to be of a physiological nature. Skinner contrasts Pavlov's empirical and theoretical work and characterizes the latter in terms of the notion of the "Conceptual Nervous System." Keywords: Skinner, Pavlov, Psychology, Physiology Se analizan en estas breves notas el modo en que Skinner plantea y resuelve sus diferencias con Pavlov respecto a la relación entre psicología y fisiología como formas de saber. Tras establecer su punto de vista en la cuestión epistemológica general, Skinner se preocupa de vincular su estudio de la conducta con la obra de Pavlov, que éste considera fisiológica por naturaleza. Skinner contrapone el trabajo empírico y el trabajo teórico de Pavlov y caracteriza el último en términos de la noción de "Sistema Nervioso Conceptual".

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