University of Nevada, Reno - Ramona A. Houmanfar (ACT/ RFT/ ACT processes/Applied RFT/Behavioral/FC; MS, PhD/DPhil; USA)

My interests in Contextual Behavior Science, Behavioral Systems Analysis, Cultural Behavior Analysis, and relational account of verbal behavior have influenced the conceptual, research, and applied work in my Performance Systems Technology Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno.  The developed expertise in these areas have also guided my pursuit of interdisciplinary collaborations throughout my academic career at UNR. 

For example, since 2010 my research team (Performance Systems Technology Lab) and I have collaborated with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) on development and implementation of an Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) curriculum (a non-therapeutic variation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) as part of the four-year undergraduate medical education curricula at UNR Med.  What started as a means of documenting and studying a major curricular reform process evolved over time. As we became more familiar with each other, we were able to utilize our relative strengths to expand into new and innovative collaborative efforts. We have provided a unique behavior scientific perspective (informed by Contextual Behavior Science, Behavioral Systems Analysis, and Cultural Behavior Analysis) to challenges that face medical education and healthcare.  This endeavor has resulted in the development of the Modified Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure for identifying implicit bias pertaining to burnout, obesity, race, gender, socio-economic status, life style (including addiction), and cooperation. The assessment process has informed our systematic integration of an empirically supported framework (i.e., Acceptance and Commitment Training; ACT) into the mandatory curriculum pertaining to burnout, and patient care in the context of healthcare.  Multiple cohorts (approximately 70 students per cohort) of medical students have completed IRAP three times throughout their curriculum experience at UNR Med over the last decade. This systematic and systemic implementation of IRAP has provided a series of longitudinal analyses that have informed the impact of ACT curriculum on measures of burnout bias, psychological flexibility, and student performance.

The current doctoral students in my lab are pursuing conceptual, basic, and applied projects that highlight the role of language and cognition in the analysis of socio-cultural phenomena. In addition, our interest in IRAP as an assessment tool has guided the basic and applied research such as the effect of differential histories with stimuli across IRAP trial types. We have also conducted a series of studies to examine the predictive utility of IRAP in our analyses of motivating operations and rule governance.

Sample Publications:
• Houmanfar, R.A, Alavosius, M. A., Ghezzi, E. L., & Olla, R. (2024). Verbal repertoires & contextual factors in cultural change. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-024-00587-z

• Assemi, K., Lombardero, A., West, D. M., Smith., G., Li., I., Houmanfar, R. A., Jacobs, N. N. (2024). Exploring the impact of acceptance and commitment based cultural humility training on standardized patient interactions: Revisiting the measurement process. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-024-10026-4

• Smith, G. S., Houmanfar, R. A., Jacobs, N. N., Froehlich, M., Szarko, A. J., Smith, B. M., Kemmelmeier, M., Baker, T. K., Piasecki, M. P., & Schwenk, T. (2022). Assessment of medical student burnout: Toward an implicit measure to address current issues. Advances in Health Sciences Education. doi.org/10.1007/s10459-021-10089-0

• Szarko, A.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Smith, B.M., Assemi, K., Piasecki, M., & Baker, T.K. (2022). Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training on Resilience and Burnout in Medical Education. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 23, 190-199 doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.02.004

• Esquierdo-Leal, J. L., & Houmanfar, R. A. (2021). Creating inclusive and equitable cultural practices by linking leadership to systemic change. Behavior Analysis & Practice, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00519-7

• Houmanfar, R. A., Szarko, A. (2021). Utilizing values-based governance to promote well-being in organizations and beyond. In Houmanfar R. A., Fryling M., Alavosius M. P. (Eds.) Applied Behavior Science in Organizations: Consilience of Historical and Emerging Trends in Organizational Behavior Management, (pp. 291-315). Taylor & Francis Group.

• Ghezzi, E.L., Houmanfar, R.A., & Crosswell, L (2020). The motivative augmental effects of verbal stimuli on cooperative and conformity responding under a financially competing contingency in an analog work task. The Psychological Record, 70, 411–431. https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00400-7

Learn more about Dr. Houmanfar's lab here - https://www.unr.edu/psychology/people/ramona-houmanfar

(This webpage was updated on October 14, 2024)