Meaningful and meaningless work; labor unions and other forms of collective resistance; anti-work and critical work psychology; the work-nonwork interface; workplace democracy; moral injury at work; worker dignity, health, and wellbeing
Most people call me "Pete."
I am a second year PhD student in George Mason University's I-O Psychology program working under Dr. Lauren Kuykendall. Both my research and teaching are influenced by a desire to empower people to effect positive social change in their workplaces and communities at large.
Broadly speaking, my research interests center on the power dynamics of the employment relationship and efforts to alter these dynamics, with a particular focus on attitudes, behaviors, and situational variables that affect and are affected by such processes. I have published research on the antecedents of labor union participation, the political dynamics of meaningful work, and the role of meaningless language (i.e., BS) in the workplace. With George Alliger, I coauthored a forthcoming focal article in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice describing how the philosophy of anti-work can enhance I-O psychology research and practice. I am currently working on further research on the political psychology of meaningful work and assisting in Dr. Kuykendall's lab on some studies relating to the work-nonwork interface.
I am as much a nerd about teaching as I am about my research interests. I view teaching as a balancing act between preparing students to succeed in the world as it exists now and empowering them to change the world for the better, and I lean toward the latter goal as much as possible. To me, learning is collaborative. I expect to learn as much from my students as they do from me. This is because, while I have helpful knowledge to impart, I believe that my students should be able to determine how to use that knowledge for themselves. All classes I teach, particularly those focused on social and I-O psychology, are built to enhance students' skills in this regard as well as empower them to act with greater benevolence and autonomy in their work and personal lives.
I began my undergraduate career as a music major, and music remains an important part of my life. Back in my native Connecticut (during school breaks, at least), I play alto and soprano saxophone for JULAI and the Serotones, an 8-piece band with rock, jazz, funk, and reggae influences. We have a self-titled album out on all major streaming platforms, are recording a second album currently, and will be appearing at the Sound on Sound Festival in Bridgeport, CT in September 2023 with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer, Alanis Morissette, Hozier, Mt. Joy, and more.
If you would like to see me play locally, I will also be joining a GMU Green Machine ensemble (TBD) in Fall 2023.
Alliger, G. M., & McEachern, P. J. (in press). Antiwork offers many opportunities for I/O psychologists. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 17(1). [Both authors contributed equally. SIOP members, want to write a commentary on this article? View it here and submit your response by September 15, 2023]
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]
Southern Connecticut State University Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship - Summer 2019
As Instructor of Record:
PSYC 231 Social Psychology (Fall 2023)
PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology (Fall 2023)
PSYC 333 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Spring 2023)
As Lab/Recitation Instructor:
MGMT 303 Principles of Management
PSYC 301 Research Methods
M.A. Industrial/Organizational Psychology, George Mason University (2022)
B.S. Applied Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University (2019)
Bazzoli, A. (Chair), Shoss, M. K. (Co-chair), Alliger, G. M., Blustein, D. L., McEachern, P. J., & Saxena, M. (2023, April). Exploring the space of critical work psychology: Implications for research and practice [Panel]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Boston, MA, 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, P. J., Howard, Z., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2022, April). Identity, agency, and employee reactions to management of meaning [Poster]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, United States.
McEachern, P. J., & Kuykendall, L. E. (2021, November). Management of meaning, the employment relationship, and worker wellbeing: Test of a model [Poster]. 2021 Work, Stress, and Health Conference (virtual).
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 [Panel]. Bridging the Gap between Workplace Writing and Professional Writing Instruction: New Directions in Business and Technical Writing Pedagogy (virtual).