BECC Journal Club
The first BECC (Behavior, Energy & Climate Change) Journal Club is a facilitated discussion of one peer-reviewed article every three months. Read in advance and together we’ll explore key insights, methodological considerations, and implications for research, policy, and implementation.
Journal Club Series — 2026 Schedule
All sessions run 3–4pm ET / 12–1pm PT on the last Tuesday of the month.
- Tuesday, April 28, 2026
- Tuesday, July 28, 2026
- Tuesday, October 27, 2026
April 28, 2026 — Featured Paper
Title: The i-frame and the s-frame: How focusing on individual-level solutions has led behavioral public policy astray
Authors: Nick Chater and George Loewenstein
Abstract: An influential line of thinking in behavioral science, to which the two authors have long subscribed, is that many of society’s most pressing problems can be addressed cheaply and effectively at the level of the individual, without modifying the system in which the individual operates. We now believe this was a mistake, along with, we suspect, many colleagues in both the academic and policy communities. Results from such interventions have been disappointingly modest. But more importantly, they have guided many (though by no means all) behavioral scientists to frame policy problems in individual, not systemic, terms: To adopt what we call the “i-frame,” rather than the “s-frame.” The difference may be more consequential than i-frame advocates have realized, by deflecting attention and support away from s-frame policies. Indeed, highlighting the i-frame is a long-established objective of corporate opponents of concerted systemic action such as regulation and taxation. We illustrate our argument briefly for six policy problems, and in depth with the examples of climate change, obesity, retirement savings, and pollution from plastic waste. We argue that the most important way in which behavioral scientists can contribute to public policy is by employing their skills to develop and implement value-creating system-level change.
BECC Community Exchange Series
The Journal Club is part of the BECC 2026 Community Exchange Series — rotating monthly online events held on the last Tuesday of each month. More information.
Interested in Sponsoring BECC?
BECC 2026 sponsorship opportunities are available now. Contact Reuven Sussman (conference co-chair) to request a sponsorship prospectus, get more information, or sign up.