Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics

IELTS Listening PracticePart 4hard

Recording

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You can replay the recording as many times as you like while practising. In the real exam you hear it once only.

Questions

Questions 1–3

The theory behind nudges

Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

Traditional economics assumes people are ______.(max 1 word)

Behavioural economists show that how a choice is ______ can matter as much as the choice itself.(max 1 word)

The environment in which we make decisions is called the choice ______.(max 1 word)

Questions 4–6

How defaults work

Complete the sentences below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

A default is the option you get if you do ______.(max 1 word)

People tend to keep the default because of ______, a preference for no effort.(max 1 word)

With an opt-out system, organ donation can be above ______ per cent.(max 1 word)

Questions 7–9

Three types of nudge

Complete the table below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

The default: chosen by most people because of inertia. Example given: ______ donation.(max 1 word)

Salience: making the good option more visible. Example: placing ______ at eye level in canteens.(max 1 word)

Social information: telling people what others do. Example: sentences added to ______ letters.(max 1 word)

Question 10

Answer the question below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY.

What do critics say nudging really amounts to, even for good goals?(max 1 word)

0 / 10 answered

About this Listening test

“Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics” is an original IELTS Listening practice test in the style of Part 4 with 10 questions (Note Completion, Sentence Completion, Table Completion and Short Answer). Play the recording, answer as you listen, then submit to have every answer marked instantly and read the transcript.

Part 4 is a university-style lecture: one speaker, an academic subject, 10 questions — almost always note completion with a one-word limit — and, uniquely, no break in the middle. You succeed by using the printed notes as a map of the lecture and never losing your place.

How to approach it

Spend the whole preparation time on the notes: the headings tell you the lecture’s sections, and each gap’s surrounding words tell you the grammar and meaning of its answer.
Predict the word class for every gap — noun, adjective, number — and any obvious semantic field (a material, an animal, a place).
Common trap: Losing your position mid-lecture and missing a run of answers — the single biggest cause of Part 4 disasters.

Read the full Listening Part 4 strategy guide · How we write and check our tests

Build consistency with another Listening practice item.