You deprive your dog of food just before you begin training him to sit down on command. You give your dog food only when he sits on the floor after you press on his back. Pretty soon your dog is sitting on the floor consistently. According to Skinner, your dog's behavior has been caused by

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According to Skinner's theory of operant conditioning, behaviors are influenced by the consequences that follow them. In this scenario, the dog's behavior of sitting is shaped by the deprivation of food (making the food a more effective reinforcer) and the subsequent use of food as a positive reinforcement when the desired behavior is performed. This process strengthens the dog's behavior of sitting on command.  To understand what the dog does, you do not need to know anything about inner psychological states. The subjective feeling of hunger is the result of deprivation but cannot be directly observed or measured and is not the cause of the dog's behavior. To understand the dog's learned behavior (sitting on command), you need only to understand the principles of learning that allow the dog to acquire the association between behavior (sitting) and reward (food).

You Deprive Your Dog of Food Just Before You Begin