Grainne Fitzsimons | Scholars@Duke

Grainne Fitzsimons
George C. Lamb, Jr. University Distinguished Professor

Gráinne M. Fitzsimons the George C. Lamb, Jr. University Professorship of Business Administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and an associate professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. Professor Fitzsimons received her Ph.D. in Psychology from New York University in 2004, and was on the faculty in the Marketing area at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Psychology faculty of the University of Waterloo in Canada, where she held a Canada Research Chair, before joining Fuqua in 2010.

Her research expertise is in the psychology of human social behavior, especially in selfregulation and interpersonal relationships. Her work has been published in numerous top academic journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Psychological Science. Her research has also been discussed in many popular press outlets such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.

Professor Fitzsimons received two early career awards: The Caryl E. Rusbult Young Investigator Award, from the Relationship Researchers Interest Group, for her early contribution to the field of interpersonal relationships, and the SAGE Young Scholar Award, from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, for her early contribution to the broader field of social psychology.

At Fuqua, Dr. Fitzsimons teaches the core Daytime MBA course in Leadership, Ethics, and Organizations, and an advanced elective course in Negotiations.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

George C. Lamb, Jr. University Distinguished Professor, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2021
Professor of Business Administration, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2017
Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2017

Contact Information

Fuqua Faculty Profile

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., New York University 2004
- M.A., New York University 2002
- B.A., McGill University (Canada) 1999
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- James L. Vincent Distinguished Professor of Leadership, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2020 - 2021
- Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2010 - 2017
- Associate Professor of Business Administration, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2012 - 2017
- Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Fuqua School of Business, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2010 - 2012
Recognition
In the News
- MAR 16, 2022 Fuqua School of Business
  
  How to Stay Motivated – Or Make Peace Without It
- APR 14, 2020
  
  Duke Awards 29 University Distinguished Professorships
- MAY 19, 2015
  
  Fuqua Research Shows Being a Go-Getter Comes at a Cost
- MAY 19, 2015 Duke Today
  
  Fuqua Research Shows Being a Go-Getter Comes at a Cost
Research
External Relationships
- Foundation Partners Group
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Wingrove, S., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Interpersonal consequences of conveying goal ambition.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 172 (September 1, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104182.
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  - Paek, J. J. W., K. S. Zee, G. M. Fitzsimons, and E. T. Higgins. “Congratulations, So Happy for You! Promotion Motivation Predicts Social Support for Positive Events.” Motivation Science 8, no. 4 (August 4, 2022): 285–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000272.
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  - Fitzsimons, G. M. “Agency and Assistance in Transactive Goal Systems.” Psychological Inquiry 33, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 35–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2022.2037997.
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  - Sackett, E., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “The Effects of Extra-Team Goal Disclosure on Team Performance, Viability, and Satisfaction.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (January 12, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.548842.
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  - Moore, S. G., G. M. Fitzsimons, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “She’ll take two: Relationship interdependence and negative emotion in everyday choice for others.” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 5, no. 3 (July 1, 2020): 335–44. https://doi.org/10.1086/709173.
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  - Reynolds, James P., Thomas L. Webb, Kathleen C. McCulloch, and Gráinne M. Fitzsimons. “Self-regulatory consequences of observing others making goal progress: A longitudinal field study in weight loss groups.” British Journal of Health Psychology 24, no. 4 (November 2019): 970–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12389.
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  - Briskin, J. L., C. E. Kopetz, G. M. Fitzsimons, and R. B. Slatcher. “For Better or for Worse? Outsourcing Self-Regulation and Goal Pursuit.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 10, no. 2 (March 1, 2019): 181–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617736112.
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  - Kim, Jae Yun, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, and Aaron C. Kay. “Lean in messages increase attributions of women's responsibility for gender inequality.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 115, no. 6 (December 2018): 974–1001. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000129.
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  - Fitzsimons, G. M., and E. J. Finkel. “Transactive-Goal-Dynamics Theory: A Discipline-Wide Perspective.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 27, no. 5 (October 1, 2018): 332–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417754199.
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  - Brick, D. J., G. M. Fitzsimons, T. L. Chartrand, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand compatibility, relationship power, and life satisfaction.” Journal of Consumer Research 44, no. 5 (February 1, 2018): 991–1014. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx079.
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  - Brick, D. J., G. M. Fitzsimons, T. L. Chartrand, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “Erratum: Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand compatibility, relationship power, and life satisfaction [Journal of Consumer Research, 44, 5, (2018) (991-1014)] DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucx079.” Journal of Consumer Research 44, no. 5 (February 1, 2018): 1174. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx095.
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  - Green, P. I., E. J. Finkel, G. M. Fitzsimons, and F. Gino. “The energizing nature of work engagement: Toward a new need-based theory of work motivation.” Research in Organizational Behavior 37 (January 1, 2017): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2017.10.007.
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  - Shea, C. T., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Personal goal pursuit as an antecedent to social network structure.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 137 (November 1, 2016): 45–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.07.002.
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  - Laurin, Kristin, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, Eli J. Finkel, Kathleen L. Carswell, Michelle R. vanDellen, Wilhelm Hofmann, Nathaniel M. Lambert, Paul W. Eastwick, Frank D. Fincham, and Preston C. Brown. “Power and the pursuit of a partner's goals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 110, no. 6 (June 2016): 840–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000048.
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  - Fitzsimons, G. M., E. Sackett, and E. J. Finkel. “Transactive Goal Dynamics Theory: A relational goals perspective on work teams and leadership.” Research in Organizational Behavior 36 (January 1, 2016): 135–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2016.11.006.
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  - Fitzsimons, Gráinne M., Eli J. Finkel, and Michelle R. vanDellen. “Transactive goal dynamics.” Psychological Review 122, no. 4 (October 2015): 648–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039654.
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  - Hofmann, Wilhelm, Eli J. Finkel, and Gráinne M. Fitzsimons. “Close relationships and self-regulation: How relationship satisfaction facilitates momentary goal pursuit.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 109, no. 3 (September 2015): 434–52. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000020.
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  - Koval, Christy Zhou, Michelle R. vanDellen, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, and Krista W. Ranby. “The burden of responsibility: Interpersonal costs of high self-control.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108, no. 5 (May 2015): 750–66. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000015.
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  - Fitzsimons, G. M., and E. J. Finkel. “Goal interdependence.” Current Opinion in Psychology 1 (February 1, 2015): 10–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.11.015.
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  - Hui, Chin Ming, Eli J. Finkel, Gráinne M. Fitzsimons, Madoka Kumashiro, and Wilhelm Hofmann. “The Manhattan effect: when relationship commitment fails to promote support for partners' interests.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 106, no. 4 (April 2014): 546–70. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035493.
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  - Light, A. E., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Contextualizing Marriage as a Means and a Goal.” Psychological Inquiry 25, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 88–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.878522.
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  - vanDellen, M. R., C. T. Shea, E. K. Davisson, C. Z. Koval, and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Motivated misperception: Self-regulatory resources affect goal appraisals.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 53 (January 1, 2014): 118–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2014.03.007.
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  - Fitzsimons, Grinne M., Tanya L. Chartrand, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons. “Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How Apple Makes You "Think Different".” Journal of Consumer Research 35, no. 1 (March 2008): 21–35.
  - Berger, J., and G. Fitzsimons. “Dogs on the Street, Pumas on Your Feet: How Cues in the Environment Influence Product Evaluation and Choice.” Journal of Marketing Research 45, no. 1 (February 1, 2008): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.45.1.001.
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  - Fitzsimons, Gavan J., Joseph C. Nunes, and Patti Williams. “License to Sin: The Liberating Role of Reporting Expectations.” Journal of Consumer Research 34, no. 1 (April 2007): 22–31.
- Book Sections
  - vanDellen, M. R., L. A. B. Beam, and G. M. Fitzsimons. “How self-control promotes health through relationships.” In The Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being: Concepts, Theories, and Central Issues, 390–401, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315648576-31.
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  - Chen, S., G. M. Fitzsimons, and S. M. Andersen. “Automaticity in close relationships.” In Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Mental Processes, 133–72, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783016-10.
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  - Cavallo, J. V., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Goal competition, conflict, coordination, and completion how intergoal dynamics affect self-regulation.” In Taylor and Francis Ltd 5, 9780203869666:267–300, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203869666.
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  - Fitzsimons, G., and E. J. Finkel. “Outsourcing effort to close others.” In The 12th Ontario Symposium: The Science of the Couple, edited by L. Campbell, J. Laguardia, J. Olsen, and M. Zanna, 41–57. New York: Psychology Press, 2012.
  - Cavallo, J. V., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Goal Competition, Conflict, Coordination, and Completion: How Intergoal Dynamics Affect Self-Regulation.” In Goal-Directed Behavior, 267–99, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203869666-15.
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  - Fitzsimons, G. M., and J. E. Anderson. “Interdependent goals and relationship conflict.” In The Psychology of Social Conflict and Aggression, 185–99, 2011.
  - Fitzsimons, G. M., J. Friesen, E. Orehek, and A. W. Kruglanski. “Progress-Induced goal shifting as a self-regulatory strategy.” In Psychology of Self-Regulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes, 183–97, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203837962.
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  - Fitzsimons, G., and E. J. Finkel. “The effects of self-regulation on social relationships.” In Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications, edited by K. D. Vohs and R. F. Bauermeister, 407–21. New York: Guilford, 2011.
  - Fitzsimons, G., and J. C. Cavallo. “Inter-Goal Dynamics.” In Goal-Directed Behavior, edited by H. Aarts and A. J. Elliot, 269–301. New York: Psychology Press/Taylor and Frances, 2011.
  - Fitzsimons, G., and J. E. Anderson. “Interdependent goals and relationship conflict.” In The Psychology of Social Conflict and Aggression, edited by J. P. Forgas, A. W. Kruglanski, and K. D. Williams, 185–200. New York: Psychology Press, 2011.
  - Fitzsimons, G. “Goal influences in relationship.” In Encyclopedia of Human Relationships, edited by H. Reis and S. Sprecher. New York: Sage, 2009.
  - Fitzsimons, G., G. M. Friesen, E. Orehek, and A. W. Kruglanski. “Progress-induced goal-shifting.” In Self-Regulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes, edited by J. P. Forgas, R. F. Baumeister, and D. M. Tice, 181–94. New York: Psychology Press, 2009.
  - Fitzsimons, G., S. Chen, and S. M. Andersen. “Automaticity in interpersonal relationships.” In Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Mental Processes, edited by J. A. Bargh, 133–72. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press, 2007.
  - Fitzsimons, G. “Pursuing goals and perceiving others: A self-regulatory perspective on interpersonal relationships.” In Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Processes, edited by K. D. Vohs and E. J. Finkel, 32–35. New York: Guilford, 2006.
  - Chartrand, T. L., and G. M. Fitzsimons. “Friends and Neighbors, Goals and Labors: Interpersonal and Self Regulation.” In Interpersonal Cognition, edited by G. M. Fitzsimons, J. Y. Shah, and J. A. Bargh, 103–25. New York: Guilford, 2005.
  - Kay, A. C., J. T. Jost, and G. M. Fitzsimons. “The Ideological Animal: On the Epistemic and Existential Bases of System Justification.” In Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology, edited by J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, and T. Pyszczynsk. New York: Guilford Press, 2004.
  - Fitzsimons, G., J. A. Bargh, and K. McKenna. “The self, online.” In Motivated Social Perception: The Ontario Symposium, edited by S. J. Spencer, S. Fein, M. P. Zanna, and J. Olson, 195–214. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
  - Fitzsimons, G., A. C. Kay, and J. E. Anderson. “Negative Life Events and Meaning (Accepted).” In Psychology of Meaning, edited by K. Markham. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, n.d.
  - Fitzsimons, G., and J. A. Bargh. “Automatic self-regulation.” In Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications, edited by R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs, 151–70. Guilford, n.d.
  - Fitzsimons, G., and J. E. Anderson. “Interpersonal cognition (Accepted).” In Handbook of Social Cognition, edited by D. Carlston. London: Oxford Press, n.d.
  - Fitzsimons, G., and M. R. van Dellen. “Relationship goals (Accepted).” In Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology: Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes, edited by J. A. Simpson and J. F. Dovidio. American Psychological Association, n.d.
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Service to Duke
- Bass Connections Faculty Advisory Council. 2014 - 2017 2014 - 2017

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Service to Duke