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Reading answers with explanations

IELTS · Part 3 · Volume 9 Test 7

The Psychology of New Product Adoption: Reading answers

Answers to questions 27–40 (14 in all), each with why it is right.

Sit it first, then check

Read the whole passage and answer in the exam interface, timed as on the day.

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The passage opens

John Gourville explores the reasons why consumers don't always buy new products An American philosopher once said, "If a man can ... make a better mousetrap than his neighbor ... the world will make a beaten path to his door." If only marketing innovation was that simple. In today's marketplace, companies that successfully introduce new products are more likely to flourish than those that don't. However, businesses spend billions of dollars making better "mousetraps" only to find consumers rejecting them. Studies show that new products fail at the staggering rate of between 40% and 90%. In the US packaged goods industry, for example, companies introduce 30,000 new products every year, but…

Answers 27–40

  1. 27

    In the first paragraph, what are we told about the current US marketplace?

    A: Almost half of all businesses that added new products collapse. Multiple choice

  2. 28

    In the second paragraph, what does the writer say about unsuccessful innovations?

    D: The reasons for product failure are more complex than is commonly thought. Multiple choice

  3. 29

    According to the characteristics described by Kahneman and Tversky, consumers

    A: compare new products with things they have bought previously. Multiple choice

  4. 30

    What are we told about the experiment conducted by Richard Thaler and his colleagues?

    B: The Sellers valued their coffee mugs more than the Choosers did. Multiple choice

  5. 31

    In Jack Knetsch's demonstration, the second group of students were:

    B: asked to choose between what they had and a new product. Multiple choice

  6. 32

    What was the end result of Knetsch's demonstration?

    C: Almost all of the students were unwilling to swap their products. Multiple choice

  7. 33

    B: people will always buy products that are better than those they already own. Summary completion (word list)

  8. 34

    A: consumers do not follow expected purchasing patterns. Summary completion (word list)

  9. 35

    D: consumers have their own idea of the value of a product. Summary completion (word list)

  10. 36

    Everett Rogers' theory explains the psychology behind the choices consumers make.

    NO Yes / No / Not Given

  11. 37

    "Loss aversion" helps to explain why people fail to buy new products.

    YES Yes / No / Not Given

  12. 38

    Developers always believe their latest product will be a success.

    NOT GIVEN Yes / No / Not Given

  13. 39

    Developers waste too much time perfecting new products.

    NOT GIVEN Yes / No / Not Given

  14. 40

    A product champion is a person who develops a best-selling new product.

    NO Yes / No / Not Given

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