Lecture: The Psychology of Habit Formation

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

What a habit is

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

A habit is a behaviour repeated so often that it becomes ______.(max 1 word)

The main value of a habit is that it saves the brain a lot of ______.(max 1 word)

Once formed, habits are controlled by a brain structure called the basal ______.(max 1 word)

Questions 4–6

The habit loop

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

Part 1 of the loop is the ______, a trigger that starts the behaviour.(max 1 word)

Part 2 is the ______, the behaviour itself.(max 1 word)

Part 3 is the ______, the benefit that makes the loop worth repeating.(max 1 word)

Questions 7–8

How long it takes

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

The popular claim that a habit forms in ______ days is a myth.(max 1 word)

Research found it took on average about ______ days for a behaviour to become automatic.(max 1 word)

Questions 9–11

Building and breaking habits

Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

One technique is to make the new behaviour as ______ as possible.(max 1 word)

Attaching a new habit to an existing one is called habit ______.(max 1 word)

To break a bad habit, keep the cue and reward but change the ______.(max 1 word)

0 / 11 answered

About this Listening test

“Lecture: The Psychology of Habit Formation” is an original IELTS Listening practice test in the style of Part 4 with 11 questions (Note Completion, Summary Completion and Sentence Completion). 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.