Rate My Professor Julie Fitness

Julie Fitness is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University. She obtained her PhD in social psychology from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in 1991. Fitness has had a distinguished career at Macquarie University, advancing from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, Professor, and Head of the Department of Psychology. Her research examines cognitive, affective, and motivational processes in social relationships, with a focus on emotions in close relationships, evolutionary psychology, interpersonal betrayal, punishment, revenge, forgiveness, trust, and gullibility.

Fitness has an extensive publication record spanning 1989 to 2026, with over 90 research outputs and more than 6,145 citations according to her Google Scholar profile. Key publications include 'Betrayal, Rejection, Revenge, and Forgiveness: An Interpersonal Script Approach' (2001, cited by 356), 'Emotional Intelligence and Intimate Relationships' (2001, cited by 265), 'The Emotionally Intelligent Marriage' (2006, cited by 53), and 'I Should Have Known Better: Development of a Self-Report Measure of Gullibility' (2020, with A. K. Teunisse, T. I. Case, and N. Sweller, cited by 80). She co-edited influential books such as Knowledge Structures in Close Relationships: A Social Psychological Approach (1996, with G. J. O. Fletcher), Social Relationships: Cognitive, Affective and Motivational Processes (2008, with J. P. Forgas), and From Mating to Mentality: Evaluating Evolutionary Psychology (2003, with K. Sterelny). As Primary Chief Investigator, she directed projects including 'Emotional Responses to Comparisons in Romantic Relationships' (2013-2017) and 'Shaping the Future of Psychology through Developing and Assessing Graduate Attributes' (2011-2013). Fitness taught courses such as Emotion and Social Motivation and Social Psychology II: Relationships. She has contributed to public discourse through articles in Macquarie University's The Lighthouse, addressing topics like family rifts, happy families, and broken trust. Her work has advanced understanding of emotional dynamics in interpersonal contexts.