What are the determinants of human consciousness?

Dr Alexander De Foe is a lecturer of cognitive and developmental psychology in Melbourne, Australia. As an experimental psychologist, he has worked with several research and academic institutes over the past 10 years, including Monash University, the Australian College of Applied Psychology, and RMIT University.

Dr De Foe supervises numerous honours, masters, and doctoral students on the topics of multisensory integration, perceptual distortions, and frameworks that explain the phenomenological features of perception and consciousness.

Alex’s PhD research was based at Monash University on the use of predictive coding to best inform cognitive models of perception and consciousness. His studies into models of body-self representation have been published in leading international journals in neurophilosophy, cognitive science, and psychology.

Conceptual models of self

How do virtual environments change our sense of self and body awareness?

How we integrate a coherent sense of self remains one of the big mysteries in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Our internal models of body awareness that coordinate our sense of balance and orientation in space-time are governed by multiple top-down and bottom-up cognitive resources. However, recent work into perceptual illusions such as the rubber hand illusion and body transfer illusion has raised questions on the certainty with which we make predictions about our personal sense of spatial and temporal body awareness.

My current research examines the role of unconscious processing, visual perception, and the impact of altered states on our sense of self-body integration.

We wake each morning with a continuity of personality, consciousness, and body integration. Yet, research into out-of-body experiences and other altered states of self/body illustrates that we often take for granted the barriers of our conscious awareness.

Alex De Foe at the most recent AIPR mini-con in Sydney Tweet

Updates

Research and education into altered states

I run a 10-week online course on altered states of consciousness and their role in informing our sense of self. You will learn about current work on meditation, mindfulness, and transcendent states that helps illustrate the nature of our self-construct -- you'll also learn plenty of practical techniques for working personally with ASC.

More details

Personal Sovereignty Zoom meet-up

Learn practical transpersonal psychology! In a world where we are ever enmeshed in a hierarchy of expectations, the journey towards personal freedom and empowerment is often murky.

On the first Saturday of each month 10.00 AM AEST - online via Zoom - I run an open-admission discussion group on individual freedom, social meaning, and altered states of consciousness. In our discussions we explore the intersect between psychology, science, and personal growth.

Join via Zoom on the first Sat of each month.

Meeting ID: 416-977-176 -- click to get direct join link

Join via Zoom

If you already have the Zoom app, you can join automatically using the following meeting ID. Otherwise, click the link below to set-up Zoom for the first time -- Meetings run on the first Sat of each month at 10.00 AM AEST (Melbourne time)

Meeting ID: 416-977-176

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Dr Alexander De Foe