Biography
My name is Abbigail Fleckenstein and I am a doctoral research fellow at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo. I work at the RITMO Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time, and Motion under the supervision of Prof. Jonna Vuoskoski as part of the Interaction & Pleasure cluster. Broadly, my doctoral research combines my passion for music psychology and empirical aesthetics by exploring the relationships between different emotional, social, and aesthetic responses to music. During my time at RITMO, I aim to investigate musical experiences considered to be "moving" and "beautiful" and specifically evaluate the social and emotional outcomes of these experiences, as well as the musical and non-musical contributors to these experiences.
Academic Interests
- Music Psychology
- Empirical Aesthetics
- Music and Emotions
- Music and Wellbeing
Academic Background
I received my MA in Psychology of Music from the University of Sheffield, UK in 2020. My master's dissertation, “Understanding Musical Beauty”, explored the concept of beauty experienced with music listening and was supervised by Prof. Nicola Dibben.
I received my B.Mus. in Music Education with a minor in Philosophy from Appalachian State University in my home state of North Carolina, USA, in 2018. I specialized in studying choral music education (K-12). During this time I also worked as an undergraduate teaching and research assistant for Dr. Jennifer Sterling Snodgrass.