Faculty/Staff Directory

Bryce Van Vleet

POSITION: Assistant Professor of Psychology

DEPARTMENT: Psychology

LOCATION: Main Campus, Harrisonburg | RLN 311

PHONE: (540) 432-4427

Dr. Bryce Van Vleet earned a PhD from North Dakota State University in Developmental Science under the direction of Dr. Heather R. Fuller in 2025. He is an assistant professor of psychology at ��ݮ�� where he directs the , a social science research lab that seeks to understand well-being, resiliency, and trust in science across rural America. His current projects investigate queer well-being in rural America, advocate for empathy towards vaccine hesitancy in adulthood, and models how rural parents impart coping skills to their children. He is a member of the Gerontological Society of America and specializes in adult development, rurality, and qualitative methodology. Prior to his doctoral work, Bryce earned a BA degree in psychology from Seattle Pacific University, a leading faith-based liberal arts university, and a MS from North Dakota State.

A recent convert to Anabaptism, Bryce looks for ways to incorporate faith into his scholarship and teaching. He encourages scholars from all walks of faith to bring their full selves into their work. Additionally, as a community-engaged scholar, he encourages curious members of the Shenandoah Valley to inquire about how research can investigate the topics of interest to them.

Education

BA, Seattle Pacfic University
MS, North Dakota State University
PHD, North Dakota State University

Publications
Van Vleet, B., Fuller, H. R., Huseth-Zosel, A., & Giddens, A. (2026). "This is not any of your business so stop your bulls**t": An abductive thematic analysis of antagonism towards others in a vaccination study. Patient Education and Counseling, 143, 109417.
McGeorge, C. R., Kinkade, E., Van Vleet, B., Kho, C., & Mullet, N. (2025). State of families brief report: North Dakota (2023). Marriage & Family Review, 1-26. Advanced Online Publication.
Van Vleet, B., Fuller, H. R. & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024). “There’s a lot of factors”: Researcher reflections on using I-Poetry to empathetically understand vaccine hesitant older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus, 1(4), 100100. .
Van Vleet, B., Fuller, H.R., Hoffmann, B., & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024) Older adults’ future perspectives and attitudes amid uncertainty: Shifts across 2 years of COVID-19. Journal of Adult Development, 32, 95-106.
Van Vleet, B., Fuller, H. R., Kinkade, E. E., & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024). Lacking family ties during COVID-19: A longitudinal small-scale qualitative analysis of fictive kin and friendship in older adulthood. Personal Relationships, 31(2), 379-396.
Fuller, H. R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Van Vleet, B., & Carson, P. J. (2024). Barriers to vaccination among older adults: Demographic variation and links to vaccine acceptance. Aging and Health Research, 4(1), Article 100176.
Fuller, H. R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Kinkade, E. E., Van Vleet, B, & Hajdar, M. (2023). “Stronger than I thought I was”: Older adults’ coping across two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gerontologist, 64(7), gnad164. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad164
Van Vleet, B., Fuller, H.R., Hofmann, B., & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2022). Untapped insight: A longitudinal qualitative analysis of older adults’ advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovation in Aging, 6(7), 1-12.
Professional Memberships
Gerontological Society of America
Courses Taught
PSYC 101 General Psychology

PSYC 202 Developmental Psychology

PSYC 342/BMS 572 Cognitive Psychology

PSYC 472 Research in Psychology

PSYC 473 Research in Psychology Applied

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