Dr Kirk N. Olsen

Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Psychological Sciences
Centre Manager: Research and Engagement,
Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise and Training
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
kirk.olsen(at)mq.edu.au

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Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology), Western Sydney University, Australia, 2011
• Bachelor of Psychology (Hons), Western Sydney University, Australia, 2007

Brief Biography

• Dr Kirk Olsen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He is also the Centre Manager: Research and Engagement of the MQ Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise, and Training and Research Manager of the MQ Music, Sound, and Performance Research Group. Dr Olsen's research combines psychological science with music and sound to investigate the mechanisms underlying human auditory perception, cognition, and emotion, with recent emphasis on the benefits of music for health and well-being across cultures and within subcultures. He is Co-Editor of a 2021 book entitled 'The science and psychology of music: From Beethoven at the office to Beyoncé at the gym' (Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO) and is Guest Editor of a new special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, entitled 'Psychosocial benefits of music in diverse subcultures'.

Specific Research Interests

• Music and emotional health
• Health benefits of physical musicality
  
• Psychosocial implications of violent music
• Social cohesion through intercultural music engagement
• Harmonious passion and psychological well-being
• Auditory attention and spatial localisation

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