Robert Frank, Ph.D.
H. J. Louis Professor Emeritus of Management and Professor Emeritus of Economics at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management
David Wallace-Wells
Editor-at-large at New York magazine and author of The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work
BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Under the Influence from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Prof. Frank that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.
Psychologists have long understood that social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. But social influence is a two-way street—our environments are themselves products of our behavior. In his fascinating 2021 book Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work, Cornell University professor Robert Frank, Ph.D. explains how to unlock the latent power of social context. It reveals how our environments encourage smoking, bullying, tax cheating, sexual predation, problem drinking, and wasteful energy use. We are building bigger houses, driving heavier cars, and engaging in a host of other activities that threaten the planet—mainly because of the forces of social contagion — what friends and neighbors do has enormous influence over our own choices.
In the wake of the hottest years on record, only robust measures to curb greenhouse gases promise relief from more frequent and intense storms, droughts, flooding, wildfires, and famines. Prof. Frank describes how the strongest predictor of our willingness to support climate-friendly policies, install solar panels, or buy an electric car is the number of people we know who have already done so. In the face of stakes that could not be higher, the book explains how we could redirect trillions of dollars annually in support of carbon-free energy sources, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone.
Prof. Frank is the H. J. Louis Professor of Management Emeritus at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He has been an “Economic View” columnist for the New York Times for more than a decade. His many books include The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good; The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas; and Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of the Meritocracy.
Prof. Frank will be in conversation with David Wallace-Wells, editor-at-large at New York magazine and author of the acclaimed 2019 New York Times bestseller The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on our website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- Baker Demonstration School
- Beacon Academy
- Bennett Day School
- Catherine Cook School
- Christ Church Winnetka
- Compass Health Center
- Francis W. Parker School
- Fusion Academy
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- New Trier High School D203
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Parents’ Association
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
Upcoming Events
The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports
Nicholas Thompson
CEO of The Atlantic
David Epstein
Science writer and best-selling author
ON ZOOM
Hold These Truths: A Table Reading
Joel de la Fuente
Award-winning stage and screen actor
Jeanne Sakata
Award-winning actor and playwright
Lisa Doi, Ph.D.
Assistant curator and project manager at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles
North Shore Country Day Auditorium
Note: Event start time is Central Time (CT).
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Parenting Anxiety: Breaking the Cycle of Worry and Raising Resilient Kids
Meredith Elkins, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist, faculty member of Harvard Medical School, and co–program director, McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, McLean Hospital
Rebecca Jenkins
Superintendent of Libertyville School District 70 in Libertyville, IL
ON ZOOM
