My research explores self-representation, self-awareness and embodiment. My recent work has focussed on the representation of our own bodies, from two complementary perspectives; first, from the outside, in terms of our physical appearance, and second, from the inside, in terms of our interoceptive sensitivity to internal bodily sensations. An important aspect of my work is to understand how the self is represented in relation to others, and how this determines the way we ‘share’ the embodied experiences of others, such as during empathy for pain, motor mimicry or emotional contagion. I am also interested in how our bodily self-representations interact with more abstract, conceptual self-beliefs to provide a rich, multimodal and coherent experience of the self.

Email: [email protected]

Self-funded (inc. agency-funded) projects: Dr. Maister welcomes informal enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in projects related to self-representation, body representation, and/or interoception. Please submit a draft research proposal (1-2 pages) to the above email address.

Competitive scholarship opportunities available: 

The Body in the Mind: Exploring Perceptual Self-Representations - Provisional Start Date Sept 2020.  

Email: [email protected]

Tel. 01248 383657

Office: Room 366, Brigantia.