Coren Apicella is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania where she teaches Social Psychology and Behavioral Biology of Women. She also directs the Human Behavior and Origins Laboratory (HBO).

She received her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from Harvard University and a M.Sc. in evolutionary psychology from the University of Liverpool. She studies both hunter-gatherers and Westerners to explore the cultural and biological origins of social behavior. Her work specializes in exploring the evolution of social and economic preferences, including cooperation, competition, mate selection and attraction.

Coren serves as an Associate Editor for the journals Evolution & Human Behavior and Adaptive Human Behavior & Physiology, a Council Member at Large at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, and is co-director of Penn’s Social and Behavioral Science Initiative (SBSI).