Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics: Listening Answers & Explanations
IELTS Listening practice test · 10 questionsPart 4hard
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About this recording
The recording opens: “Good morning. Today we move into one of the liveliest areas of modern economics — the field known as behavioural economics.”
- Transcript length: about 559 words
- Questions: 10
- Question types: Note Completion, Sentence Completion, Table Completion, Short Answer
“Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics” is an original IELTS-style practice recording written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics answers with explanations
Questions 1–3: Note Completion
The theory behind nudges
Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
- 1
Traditional economics assumes people are ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: rational
Why: The passage states that traditional economics is based on the assumption that people make decisions by carefully evaluating all options and selecting what benefits them the most, implying they are rational.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 2 “Traditional economics assumes that people are rational — that we weigh up all the options carefully and then choose whatever is in our best interest.”
- 2
Behavioural economists show that how a choice is ______ can matter as much as the choice itself.(max 1 word)
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Answer: framed (also accepted: presented)
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it states that the presentation of a choice can be as significant as the choice itself, emphasizing the influence of how options are framed.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 2 “In other words, the way an option is framed can matter just as much as the option itself.”
- 3
The environment in which we make decisions is called the choice ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: architecture
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it explains that a nudge involves a small change in the decision-making environment, referred to by economists as the "choice architecture.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 3 “A nudge is a small change to the environment in which we make decisions — what economists call the choice architecture — that gently steers people towards a better choice, without forbidding anything or changing their financial incentives.”
Questions 4–6: Sentence Completion
How defaults work
Complete the sentences below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- 4
A default is the option you get if you do ______.(max 1 word)
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Answer: nothing
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it explains that a default is simply the option chosen when no action is taken, highlighting that people often select the default due to inertia.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “A default is simply the option you get if you do nothing at all.”
- 5
People tend to keep the default because of ______, a preference for no effort.(max 1 word)
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Answer: inertia
Why: The answer comes from the part of the passage that explains how people have a tendency to stick with options that require no effort, which is referred to as inertia.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “Because people are prone to inertia — that is, a tendency to stick with whatever requires no effort — the default option is chosen by the great majority of people.”
- 6
With an opt-out system, organ donation can be above ______ per cent.(max 1 word)
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Answer: ninety (also accepted: 90)
Why: The answer is found where the passage discusses organ donation, stating that in countries with an opt-out system, participation rates exceed ninety per cent, highlighting the impact of default options on decision-making.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “In countries where you are a donor unless you opt out, participation is above ninety per cent.”
Questions 7–9: Table Completion
Three types of nudge
Complete the table below. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
- 7
The default: chosen by most people because of inertia. Example given: ______ donation.(max 1 word)
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Answer: organ
Why: The answer "organ" comes from the passage section discussing defaults, where it explains that in countries where organ donation is the default option, participation rates are significantly higher due to people's tendency towards inertia.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 “Because people are prone to inertia — that is, a tendency to stick with whatever requires no effort — the default option is chosen by the great majority of people.”
- 8
Salience: making the good option more visible. Example: placing ______ at eye level in canteens.(max 1 word)
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Answer: fruit
Why: The answer is found in the section discussing salience, where it describes how placing fruit at eye level in school canteens increases children's selection of fruit, illustrating the concept of making the desirable option more visible.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 5 “A famous case comes from school canteens, where simply placing the fruit at eye level, rather than the chocolate, measurably increases how much fruit children choose.”
- 9
Social information: telling people what others do. Example: sentences added to ______ letters.(max 1 word)
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Answer: tax
Why: The answer is found where the passage describes how adding a sentence about the majority paying taxes to tax letters increased payment rates, illustrating the use of social information as a nudge.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 6 “When tax authorities added a single sentence to their letters — stating that the great majority of people in your area have already paid their tax — payment rates rose noticeably.”
Question 10: Short Answer
Answer the question below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY .
- 10
What do critics say nudging really amounts to, even for good goals?(max 1 word)
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Answer: manipulation
Why: The answer comes from the part of the passage where it mentions that critics argue nudges exploit mental weaknesses and steering people without full awareness is a form of manipulation, even when the goal is good.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 7 “Critics argue that nudges work precisely because they exploit our mental weaknesses, and that steering people without their full awareness is a form of manipulation, even when the goal is a good one.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 10 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Listening conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single recording is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 10 / 10 | 9.0 |
| 9 / 10 | 8.0 |
| 8 / 10 | 7.5 |
| 7 / 10 | 6.5 |
| 6 / 10 | 6.0 |
| 5 / 10 | 5.5 |
| 4 / 10 | 5.0 |
| 3 / 10 | 4.0 |
| 2 / 10 | 3.5 |
| 1 / 10 | 2.5 |
| 0 / 10 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Listening Part 4
- 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.
Full Listening Part 4 strategyPractise “Lecture: Nudges and Behavioural Economics” under exam conditions
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