Current PhD Students

Peter J. McEachern

Peter J. McEachern

Peter J. McEachern

Job crafting; the work-nonwork interface; organized labor; anti-work and critical work psychology; meaningful and meaningless work; worker dignity, health, and wellbeing

Peter J. (Pete) McEachern, MA is a fourth-year PhD student in industrial-organizational psychology at George Mason University working under Dr. Lauren Kuykendall. His research centers on work-related social identity and how it influences the steps that people take (or don’t) to change their own work environments, particularly by informal, unsanctioned, or politically contentious means. He has published work in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, and Writing and Pedagogy.

In summer 2025, he took part in the Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP), where worked with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 to address workplace violence issues in grocery and retail stores.

He is also passionate about teaching and currently developing an interdisciplinary course on organizational politics and worker wellbeing for GMU's Honors College.

Outside of work, Pete enjoys trivia, leisurely nature walks, rooting for Boston and DC sports teams, and occasionally playing the saxophone.

Selected Publications

Alliger, G. M., & McEachern, P. J. (2024). Antiwork offers many opportunities for I/O psychologists. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2023.49 [Both authors contributed equally.]

McEachern, P. J., & McEachern, R. W. (2022). Should we teach students how to bullshit?. Writing and Pedagogy, 14(2), 163-182. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.21554

McEachern, P. J., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2021). Industrial, organizational, political? Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 14(4), 600-604. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2021.101

McEachern, P. J., & Budnick, C. J. (2020). Socioeconomic differences in worker involvement in labor union activities. The Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 25(3), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN25.3.278 [for full paper, scroll down to the article abstract and click on the title]

Expanded Publication List

Alliger, G. M., & McEachern, P. J. (2024). Antiwork offers many opportunities for I/O psychologists. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2023.49 [Both authors contributed equally.]

Zhou, S., Aitken, J., McEachern, P. J., & McCauley, R. (2022). Data from 990 public real-world job advertisements organized by O*NET categories. Journal of Open Psychology Data, 10(17), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5334/jopd.69  

McEachern, P. J., & McEachern, R. W. (2022). Should we teach students how to bullshit?. Writing and Pedagogy, 14(2), 163-182. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.21554

McEachern, P. J., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2021). Industrial, organizational, political? Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 14(4), 600-604. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2021.101

McEachern, P. J., & Budnick, C. J. (2020). Socioeconomic differences in worker involvement in labor union activities. The Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 25(3), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN25.3.278 [for full paper, scroll down to the article abstract and click on the title]

Grants and Fellowships

Southern Connecticut State University Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship - Summer 2019

Courses Taught

Fall 2025:

HNRS 110 Principles of Research and Inquiry (as Graduate Teaching Assistant)

Past semesters (all as Instructor of Record):

PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology
PSYC 231 Social Psychology
PSYC 301 Research Methods (lecture and lab sections)
PSYC 320 Tests and Measurements (lecture)
PSYC 333 Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Education

M.A. Industrial/Organizational Psychology, George Mason University (2022)

B.S. Applied Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University (2019)

Recent Presentations

McEachern, P. J., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2025, June). Needs frustration, work Identity, and crafting for better work-life balance. In P. J. McEachern & K. Carriere (Co-Chairs). Workplace advocacy across levels: Individual, organizational, and community perspectives [Symposium]. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Summer Conference, Portland, OR, United States.

Koziel, R. J., McEachern, P. J., Thomas, C. L. (Co-Chairs), Bazzoli, A., Cubrich, M., Phetmisy, C. N., Saxena, M., Snoeyink, M. J., & Watson, G. P. (2025, April). Research with workers at the margins: A discussion on research, theory, and advocacy [Panel]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

Stoa, R. (Chair), Agars, M., Kath, L., McEachern, P. J., & Sitzmann, T. (2025, April). Human being vs human doing: IO psychology and internalized capitalism [Panel]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

McEachern, P. J., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2023, April). Control over care: The social cognitive environment of the US labor market [Poster]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Boston, MA, United States.

McEachern, R. W., & McEachern, P. J. (2021, October). Should we teach students how to bullshit? Allowing students to fit into a speech community, engage in day-to-day interaction, and bolster their image and identity. Bridging the Gap between Workplace Writing and Professional Writing Instruction: New Directions in Business and Technical Writing Pedagogy (virtual).