Athena Aktipis
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Mail code: 1104Campus: Tempe
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Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, Director of the Cooperative Futures Instititute, The Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and the The Cooperation Lab at ASU. She is also the co-Director of The Cooperation Science Network and The Human Generosity Project. She studies cooperation across systems from human sharing to cancer. Aktipis is also the founder of Zombified Media and the host of the podcast, Zombified. When COVID-19 was on the verge of becoming a pandemic, she started the Cooperation in the Apocalypse project to better understand how crises affect cooperation, interdependence and other social behaviors.
Aktipis is the author of two books, A Field Guide to the Apocalypse: A mostly serious guide to surviving our wild times and The Cheating Cell: How evolution helps us understand and treat cancer. She is also the author of a Substack titled Not For Peer Review where she shares her thoughts on topics from AI to the origins of life.
- Ph.D. Psychology, University of Pennsylvania 2008
- B.A. Psychology, Reed College, Phi Beta Kappa 2002
Cooperation and Conflict Across Systems
My research investigates how cooperation and conflict shape systems from human sharing to cells within multicellular bodies. I use computational modeling, laboratory experiments and fieldwork to better understand these processes and the general principles that operate across cooperative systems. My work addresses both cooperation on small-scales and the problems inherent in scaling-up cooperation to large interconnected complex systems. My contributions to cooperation theory include the Walk Away model of cooperation (showing that conditional movement favors cooperation) and the Need-based Transfers framework for resource sharing (which can outperform strict account-keeping).I have also worked on the applications of cooperation theory to cancer evolution including the role of resource conflict in the evolution of invasion and metastasis.
Department of Psychology Research Lab: Cooperation and Conflict Lab
- Aktipis,C Athena*. Application of evolutionary principles to maintain cancer control (PQ21). HLMCCRI(7/1/2013 - 6/30/2016).
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 294 | Special Topics |
| BIO 294 | Special Topics |
| PSY 598 | Special Topics |
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| MBB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 592 | Research |
| PSY 599 | Thesis |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 294 | Special Topics |
| BIO 294 | Special Topics |
| PSY 394 | Special Topics |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| PSY 399 | Supervised Research |
| NEU 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| NEU 493 | Honors Thesis |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 592 | Research |
| PSY 294 | Special Topics |
| BIO 294 | Special Topics |
| PSY 394 | Special Topics |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| NEU 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| NEU 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 790 | Reading and Conference |
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| PSY 294 | Special Topics |
| BIO 294 | Special Topics |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| PHY 598 | Special Topics |
| CDE 591 | Seminar |
| FAS 591 | Seminar |
| ASB 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| BIO 591 | Seminar |
| BIO 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| PSY 592 | Research |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |
| PSY 799 | Dissertation |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| PSY 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| PSY 591 | Seminar |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| PSY 792 | Research |