Perhaps the most common types of establishing operations, those mentioned by Skinner in Verbal Behavior, are deprivation and aversive stimulation. The stimulus change that results from a situation in which you have no water to one in which you now have water available often acts as reinforcement for the verbal response, “water, please.” However, this is likely to be reinforcement only if you are currently water deprived.
An environmental change or event with the following features: