Mollie Ruben | Profiles RNS

Mollie A. Ruben, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Medicine

General Internal Medicine

PhD, Northeastern University
MA, Northeastern University
BA, Franklin & Marshall College

Websites

	LinkedIn
	ResearchGate
	Google Scholar

ORCID : 0000-0001-8918-8932

Dr. Ruben earned her PhD in psychology at Northeastern University where she developed a strong background in doctor-patient communication, measuring and quantifying nonverbal behavior, creating standardized tests to evaluate physicians’ interpersonal skill, and meta-analysis. Dr. Ruben is a certified and reliable Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and Roter Interaction Analysis (RIAS) coder. Dr. Ruben uses these coding systems to examine the impact of providers’ communication style on patient health outcomes, with a particular interest in ameliorating the physical pain experience for patients. Additionally, Dr. Ruben is interested in doctor-patient communication among sexual minorities or LGBT patients.

VA Boston Healthcare System

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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Stosic MD, Ruben MA, Weaver AE, Blanch-Hartigan D, Sanders JJ, Schwartz R, Jeong S, Lam RX, Hall JA, Duong F, Meyer EC, Waisel D, Blum RH. What Is Clinical Empathy in Anesthesiology? Perspectives From Practicing Anesthesiologists. A A Pract. 2025 Sep 01; 19(9):e02045. PMID: 40911041

Ruben MA, Weaver AE, Stein LAR. Modern racism contributes to overall less pain management and a "one size fits all" approach. Health Psychol Rep. 2025; 13(3):226-235. PMID: 40959658; PMCID: PMC12435550; DOI: 10.5114/hpr/207686;

Paganini GA, Weaver AE, Carroll A, Ruben MA, Mathur VA, Paige Lloyd E. Leveraging insights from the psychological science of gender stereotyping to advance scholarship on gender-diverse individuals' pain experiences. J Pain. 2025 Aug; 33:105430. PMID: 40379067

Stage MA, Creamer MM, Ruben MA. "Having providers who are trained and have empathy is life-saving": Improving primary care communication through thematic analysis with ChatGPT and human expertise. PEC Innov. 2025 Jun; 6:100371. PMID: 39866208; PMCID: PMC11758403; DOI: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100371;

Stage MA, Ruben MA. From Cueless to Cue-Full: Understanding Health Care Cues' Impact on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Disclosure. Transl Issues Psychol Sci. 2025 Mar; 11(1):42-55. PMID: 40814303; PMCID: PMC12345974; DOI: 10.1037/tps0000442;

Shepard EC, Ruben M, Weyandt LL. Emotion Recognition Accuracy Among Individuals With ADHD: A Systematic Review. J Atten Disord. 2025 Feb; 29(3):174-194. PMID: 39614669; PMCID: PMC11781233; DOI: 10.1177/10870547241297005;

Stosic MD, Flynn-Evans EE, Duenas J, Ruben MA. Gender Bias in the Perception of Others' Fatigue: Women Report More Fatigue Than Men But Have Their Fatigue Underestimated by Others. Sex Roles. 2024 Nov; 90(11):1599-1615. PMID: 40809322; PMCID: PMC12341740; DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01534-6;

Cipollina R, Ruben MA, Maroney MR, Fu C, Gonzalez A, Fogwell NT, Bettergarcia J, Levitt HM. The damaging legacy of damage-centered LGBTIQ+ research: Implications for healthcare and LGBTIQ+ health. J Soc Issues. 2024 Sep; 80(3):973-999. PMID: 40809300; PMCID: PMC12341648; DOI: 10.1111/josi.12641;

Ruben MA, Stosic MD. Documenting Race and Gender Biases in Pain Assessment and a Novel Intervention Designed to Reduce Biases. J Pain. 2024 Sep; 25(9):104550. PMID: 38692397; PMCID: PMC11793930; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104550;

Daniali H, Ruben MA, Aslaksen PM, Fiskum C, Kaptchuk TJ, Flaten MA. The Effect of Singular Nonverbal Behaviours of Experimenters on Pain Reports. J Pain Res. 2024; 17:1345-1360. PMID: 38584862; PMCID: PMC10999184; DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S449150;

Showing 10 of 50 results. Show More

Ruben MA, Stosic MD. Preserving privacy in the era of openness: Commentary on open science requirements for identifiable data in psychological science journals. Am Psychol. 2024 Apr; 79(3):463-465. PMID: 38059977

Stosic MD, Blanch-Hartigan D, Ruben MA, Meyer EC, Henig A, Waisel DB, Blum RH. "You Look Young! Are You a Doctor?" A Qualitative Content Analysis of Anesthesiology Resident Responses to Ageism in Clinical Encounters. Anesthesiology. 2023 Nov 01; 139(5):667-674. PMID: 37582252

Daniali H, Ruben MA, Flaten MA. Systematic manipulation of experimenters' non-verbal behaviors for the investigation of pain reports and placebo effects. Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1248127. PMID: 38023052; PMCID: PMC10644817; DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1248127;

Scarpulla E, Stosic MD, Weaver AE, Ruben MA. Should I post? The relationships among social media use, emotion recognition, and mental health. Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1161300. PMID: 37287775; PMCID: PMC10242173; DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1161300;

Fix GM, Kim B, Ruben M, McCullough MB. Direct Observation Methods: a Practical Guide for Health Researchers. PEC Innov. 2022 Dec; 1.View Related Profiles.

Fix, Gemmae
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 36406296; PMCID: PMC9670254; DOI: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100036;

Ruben MA, LaPiere T. Social identity and the mental health and wellbeing of male veterans. Health Psychol Rep. 2023; 11(3):262-268. PMID: 38084264; PMCID: PMC10670778; DOI: 10.5114/hpr/154989;

Stosic MD, Helwig S, Ruben MA. More Than Meets the Eyes: Bringing Attention to the Eyes Increases First Impressions of Warmth and Competence. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2024 Feb; 50(2):253-269. PMID: 36259443

Hutchinson RN, Anderson EC, Ruben MA, Manning N, John L, Daruvala A, Rizzo DM, Eppstein MJ, Gramling R, Han PKJ. A Formative Mixed-Methods Study of Emotional Responsiveness in Telepalliative Care. J Palliat Med. 2022 Aug; 25(8):1258-1267. PMID: 35417249; PMCID: PMC9347382; DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2021.0589;

Berke DS, Ruben MA, Liautaud MM, Meterko M, Kauth MR, Shipherd JC. Discrimination Exposure Based on Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation of Veterans Affairs Health Administration Patients. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2022; 33(2):714-725.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Meterko, Mark
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 35574871

Stosic MD, Blanch-Hartigan D, Aleksanyan T, Duenas J, Ruben MA. Empathy, friend or foe? Untangling the relationship between empathy and burnout in helping professions. J Soc Psychol. 2022 Jan 02; 162(1):89-108. PMID: 34821209

Ruben MA, Kauth MR, Meterko M, Norton AM, Matza AR, Shipherd JC. Veterans' Reported Comfort in Disclosing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Med Care. 2021 06 01; 59(6):550-556.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Meterko, Mark
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 33797509

Stosic MD, Helwig S, Ruben MA. Greater belief in science predicts mask-wearing behavior during COVID-19. Pers Individ Dif. 2021 Jul; 176:110769. PMID: 33612904; PMCID: PMC7879019; DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110769;

Ruben MA, Stosic MD, Correale J, Blanch-Hartigan D. Is Technology Enhancing or Hindering Interpersonal Communication? A Framework and Preliminary Results to Examine the Relationship Between Technology Use and Nonverbal Decoding Skill. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:611670. PMID: 33519627; PMCID: PMC7843959; DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.611670;

Wolfe HL, Fix GM, Bolton RE, Ruben MA, Bokhour BG. Development of observational rating scales for evaluating patient-centered communication within a whole health approach to care. Explore (NY). 2021 Nov-Dec; 17(6):491-497.View Related Profiles.

Bokhour, Barbara
Fix, Gemmae
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 32703684; PMCID: PMC7791595; DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2020.06.011;

Livingston NA, Berke D, Scholl J, Ruben M, Shipherd JC. Addressing Diversity in PTSD Treatment: Clinical Considerations and Guidance for the Treatment of PTSD in LGBTQ Populations. Curr Treat Options Psychiatry. 2020; 7(2):53-69.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie
Livingston, Nicholas

PMID: 32421099; PMCID: PMC7223966; DOI: 10.1007/s40501-020-00204-0;

Waisel DB, Ruben MA, Blanch-Hartigan D, Hall JA, Meyer EC, Blum RH. Compassionate and Clinical Behavior of Residents in a Simulated Informed Consent Encounter. Anesthesiology. 2020 01; 132(1):159-169. PMID: 31770142

Bolton RE, Bokhour BG, Hogan TP, Luger TM, Ruben M, Fix GM. Integrating Personalized Care Planning into Primary Care: a Multiple-Case Study of Early Adopting Patient-Centered Medical Homes. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 02; 35(2):428-436.View Related Profiles.

Bokhour, Barbara
Fix, Gemmae
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 31650401; PMCID: PMC7018887; DOI: 10.1007/s11606-019-05418-4;

Ruben MA, Livingston NA, Berke DS, Matza AR, Shipherd JC. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans' Experiences of Discrimination in Health Care and Their Relation to Health Outcomes: A Pilot Study Examining the Moderating Role of Provider Communication. Health Equity. 2019; 3(1):480-488.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie
Livingston, Nicholas

PMID: 31559377; PMCID: PMC6761590; DOI: 10.1089/heq.2019.0069;

Livingston NA, Berke DS, Ruben MA, Matza AR, Shipherd JC. Experiences of trauma, discrimination, microaggressions, and minority stress among trauma-exposed LGBT veterans: Unexpected findings and unresolved service gaps. Psychol Trauma. 2019 Oct; 11(7):695-703.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie
Livingston, Nicholas

PMID: 30998062

Murphy NA, Hall JA, Ruben MA, Frauendorfer D, Schmid Mast M, Johnson KE, Nguyen L. Predictive Validity of Thin-Slice Nonverbal Behavior from Social Interactions. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2019 07; 45(7):983-993. PMID: 30400748

Blanch-Hartigan D, Ruben MA, Hall JA, Schmid Mast M. Measuring nonverbal behavior in clinical interactions: A pragmatic guide. Patient Educ Couns. 2018 12; 101(12):2209-2218. PMID: 30146408

Ruben MA, Blanch-Hartigan D, Shipherd JC. To Know Another's Pain: A Meta-analysis of Caregivers' and Healthcare Providers' Pain Assessment Accuracy. Ann Behav Med. 2018 07 13; 52(8):662-685.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 30010705

Shipherd JC, Ruben MA, Livingston NA, Curreri A, Skolnik AA. Treatment experiences among LGBT veterans with discrimination-based trauma exposure: A pilot study. J Trauma Dissociation. 2018 Jul-Sep; 19(4):461-475.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie
Livingston, Nicholas

PMID: 29601292

Ruben MA, Fullerton M. Proportion of patients who disclose their sexual orientation to healthcare providers and its relationship to patient outcomes: A meta-analysis and review. Patient Educ Couns. 2018 09; 101(9):1549-1560. PMID: 29778500

Ruben MA, Blosnich JR, Dichter ME, Luscri L, Shipherd JC. Will Veterans Answer Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions? Med Care. 2017 Sep; 55 Suppl 9 Suppl 2:S85-S89.View Related Profiles.

Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 28806370

Ruben MA, Meterko M, Bokhour BG. Do patient perceptions of provider communication relate to experiences of physical pain? Patient Educ Couns. 2018 02; 101(2):209-213.View Related Profiles.

Bokhour, Barbara
Meterko, Mark
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 28803029

Hall JA, Back MD, Nestler S, Frauendorfer D, Schmid Mast M, Ruben MA. How Do Different Ways of Measuring Individual Differences in Zero-Acquaintance Personality Judgment Accuracy Correlate With Each Other? J Pers. 2018 04; 86(2):220-232. PMID: 28192851; DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12307;

Ruben MA, Shipherd JC, Topor D, AhnAllen CG, Sloan CA, Walton HM, Matza AR, Trezza GR. Advancing LGBT Health Care Policies and Clinical Care Within a Large Academic Health Care System: A Case Study. J Homosex. 2017; 64(10):1411-1431.View Related Profiles.

Sloan, Colleen
Topor, David
Trezza, Glenn
Shipherd, Jillian
Ruben, Mollie

PMID: 28459380

Ruben MA, Blanch-Hartigan D, Hall JA. Nonverbal Communication as a Pain Reliever: The Impact of Physician Supportive Nonverbal Behavior on Experimentally Induced Pain. Health Commun. 2017 Aug; 32(8):970-976. PMID: 27463408; DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2016.1196418;

Ruben MA, Hall JA. A Lens Model Approach to the Communication of Pain. Health Commun. 2016 Aug; 31(8):934-45. PMID: 26752199; DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2015.1020261;

Ruben MA, van Osch M, Blanch-Hartigan D. Healthcare providers' accuracy in assessing patients' pain: A systematic review. Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Oct; 98(10):1197-206. PMID: 26223850; DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.07.009;

Przedworski JM, Dovidio JF, Hardeman RR, Phelan SM, Burke SE, Ruben MA, Perry SP, Burgess DJ, Nelson DB, Yeazel MW, Knudsen JM, van Ryn M. A Comparison of the Mental Health and Well-Being of Sexual Minority and Heterosexual First-Year Medical Students: A Report From the Medical Student CHANGE Study. Acad Med. 2015 May; 90(5):652-9. PMID: 25674912; PMCID: PMC4414698; DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000000658;

Gunnery SD, Ruben MA. Perceptions of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles: A meta-analysis. Cogn Emot. 2016; 30(3):501-15. PMID: 25787714; DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1018817;

Ruben MA, Hall JA, Schmid Mast M. Smiling in a job interview: when less is more. J Soc Psychol. 2015 Mar-Apr; 155(2):107-26. PMID: 25309976; DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2014.972312;

Murphy NA, Hall JA, Schmid Mast M, Ruben MA, Frauendorfer D, Blanch-Hartigan D, Roter DL, Nguyen L. Reliability and validity of nonverbal thin slices in social interactions. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2015 Feb; 41(2):199-213. PMID: 25488925; DOI: 10.1177/0146167214559902;

Hall JA, Ship AN, Ruben MA, Curtin EM, Roter DL, Clever SL, Smith CC, Pounds K. Clinically relevant correlates of accurate perception of patients' thoughts and feelings. Health Commun. 2015; 30(5):423-9. PMID: 24949868; DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2013.865507;

Ruben MA, Hill KM, Hall JA. How women's sexual orientation guides accuracy of interpersonal judgements of other women. Cogn Emot. 2014; 28(8):1512-21. PMID: 24564873; DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.890093;

Hall JA, Ship AN, Ruben MA, Curtin EM, Roter DL, Clever SL, Smith CC, Pounds K. The Test of Accurate Perception of Patients' Affect (TAPPA): an ecologically valid tool for assessing interpersonal perception accuracy in clinicians. Patient Educ Couns. 2014 Feb; 94(2):218-23. PMID: 24184040; DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2013.10.004;

Ruben MA, Hall JA. "I know your pain": proximal and distal predictors of pain detection accuracy. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2013 Oct; 39(10):1346-58. PMID: 23852457; DOI: 10.1177/0146167213493188;

Blanch-Hartigan D, Ruben MA. Training clinicians to accurately perceive their patients: current state and future directions. Patient Educ Couns. 2013 Sep; 92(3):328-36. PMID: 23490175; DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2013.02.010;

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 50 publications over 13 distinct years, with a maximum of 7 publications in 2024

Bar chart showing 50 publications over 13 distinct years, with a maximum of 7 publications in 2024

Year	Publications
2013	3
2014	3
2015	4
2016	2
2017	4
2018	5
2019	3
2020	3
2021	4
2022	5
2023	4
2024	7
2025	3

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