Final answer:
Establishing operations are most often associated with temporary emotional states. They affect the value of a stimulus as a reinforcer and the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring.
Step-by-step explanation:
Establishing operations are often associated with changes in the value of a stimulus as a reinforcer and its ability to elicit behavior due to a change in a biological or emotional state of the individual. In psychology, these operations are most closely linked to temporary emotional states rather than sensory processing issues. They play a significant role in behavior analysis and learning because they can influence how a person will behave in response to different stimuli by altering the effectiveness of those stimuli.
For example, hunger can be an establishing operation that increases the value of food as a reinforcer, making food-related behavior more likely. Similarly, sympathetic activation, which includes physiological responses such as pupil dilation and increased heart rate, can heighten emotional states and influence behavior. Our emotional experiences, informed by physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experiences, can shape these temporary states that establishing operations act upon.