| Abstract: In the United States, it is sometimes taken for granted that those who stand for Black Lives Matter are also pro-choice and anti-death penalty, even though these topics and issues are not clearly interrelated functionally or topographically. Have you wondered why those who practice racism also seem to practice homophobism, are pro-life, and believe in cutting taxes? To move towards a more socially just society, we must first understand the interrelatedness of seemingly unrelated topics including racism, classism, ageism, abortion, taxation, abolishing police, and freedom. Stimulus class formation occurs when a group of stimuli evoke functionally similar responses. The panelists and chair of this presentation have conducted preliminary exploratory research and hypothesized that stimulus classes exist that evoke responses with topics that are seemingly different, both topographically and functionally, often sometimes contradictory. Further, we will discuss how to identify functional reinforcers that establish beliefs (i.e., verbal behavior) and actions. A conversation regarding stimulus equivalence and nonequivalence of extremist parties will occur, focusing on the behavioral phenomena that both form and maintain these classes as well as how to change them. |