Vicky Dierckx

Biography

Vicky Dierckx has been an Adjunct Lecturer in the Marketing Department at Virginia Tech since 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychological Science from Ghent University in Belgium. After relocating to the U.S. with her family in the summer of 2015, Vicky began exploring the fascinating field of Well-being.

Vicky has extensive experience teaching well-being courses. She has facilitated multiple well-being groups for both undergraduate and graduate students in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Rec Sports Department. Additionally, she has taught well-being courses for the Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech.

Beyond academia, Vicky has organized and delivered well-being workshops and training sessions for local governments and companies, including Pulaski County, Roanoke County, the Virginia Government Finance Officers’ Association, Virginia Career Works, DePaul Community Resources, and VT-ARC.

Education

Ph.D. in Psychological Science (2001, Ghent University, Belgium)

MA in Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science (1997, KULeuven, Belgium)

MA in Psychology (1996, KULeuven, Belgium)

Teaching degree (1996, KULeuven, Belgium)

Teaching interests

Personal well-being and professional success, Goal setting and motivation

Publications

• Dierckx, V. & Vandierendonck, A (2007). Modeling something that is believed to be false. In W. Schaeken, A. Vandierendonck, W. Schroyens, & G. D’Ydewalle (eds.). Mental models theory of reasoning: Refinements and extensions (pp 113-128). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Ass Pub.
• Vandierendonck, A., Dierckx, V., & Vanderbeken, H. (2006). Interaction of knowledge and working memory in reasoning about relations. In C. Held, M. Knauff, & G. Vosgerau, Mental Models and the Mind: Current Developments in Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy of Mind, Vol 138 (pp 53-83). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• Dierckx, V. & Vandierendonck, A. (2005). Adaptive strategy application in linear reasoning. In M.J. Roberts & E.J. Newton, Methods of thought: Individual differences in reasoning strategies (pp 107-127). Sussex: Psychological Press.
• Vandierendonck, A., Dierckx, V., & De Vooght, G. (2004). Mental model construction in linear reasoning. Evidence for the construction of annotated mental models. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 57, 1369-1391.
• Dierckx, V., Vandierendonck, A., Liefooghe, B. & Christiaens, E. (2004). Plugging a tooth before anaesthetising the patient? The influence of people’s beliefs on reasoning about the temporal order of actions. Thinking and Reasoning, 10, 371-404.
• Dierckx, V., Vandierendonck, A., & Pandelaere, M (2003). Is model construction open to strategic decisions? An exploration in the field of linear reasoning. Thinking and Reasoning, 9, 97-139.
• Boen, F, Vanbeselaere, N, Pandelaere, M., Dewitte, S., Duriez, B., Snauwaert, B., Feys, J., Dierckx, V., & Van Avermaet, E. (2002). Politics and basking-in-reflected-glory: A field study in Flanders. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24, 205-214.
• Verhaeghen, P., Vandenbroucke, A, & Dierckx, V. (1998). Growing slower and less accurate: Adult age differences in time-accuracy functions for recall and recognition from episodic memory. Experimental Aging Research, 24, 3-19.