🔥Marketing And Mind Control: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng

Reading Passage: "Marketing And Mind Control"

How marketing and advertising appeal to the associative nature of the brain

While there had been a long tradition of giving rings as a commitment to marry, the custom of giving diamond engagement rings was in large part manufactured by one of the most effective marketing campaigns in history. In the early 1900s, diamond sales were declining, posing a serious problem for the company that essentially had control over the diamond market. In 1938, this company hired an advertising agency, which proposed reshaping social attitudes toward diamonds. As well as magazines showing film stars draped in diamonds, the agency arranged for movies to incorporate diamond engagement rings into their plots. The campaign culminated with the slogan: "A diamond is forever." At the time, the approach was unique. Rather than pushing a brand, the objective was to promote diamonds as the symbol of everlasting love. This was achieved by exploiting the associative nature of the brain: associating neurons activated by the concept of "love" with neurons that encoded the concept of “diamonds.” By 1941, diamond sales had increased by 55%.

Advertising comes in many forms, from blatant neon signs to subtly embedded products in movies. In each case, the goal is to mold our habits, desires, and opinions. Our visual system is targeted by an avalanche of information on the internet, street posters, billboards, and in movie theaters. Our auditory system submits to catchy radio jingles and telemarketers. More surreptitiously, our olfactory system is targeted by variations of vanilla and citrus perfumes aimed at enticing us to linger in a retail outlet. It is difficult to measure how effective these campaigns are, but as in the "A diamond is forever" campaign, they can be so successful that they change the fabric of our culture. In the case of bottled water, we are swayed by advertising into paying for something that we can obtain for free. Most people cannot distinguish bottled from tap water, much less between brands of bottled water, which is why you rarely hear of a bottled water company proposing a blind taste test.

So why is marketing such an effective mind-control technique? It is interesting to consider whether other animals exhibit anything analogous to humans' susceptibility to advertising. If we provide a lab rat with two types of cereal, it will consume approximately the same amount of each. However, if we put that rat with another rat that spent its day eating just one type, when faced with a choice, our rat will now show a preference for the same type as the other rat was eating. Psychologists call this "socially transmitted food preference."

What many regard as the first documented examples of cultural learning in primates started with a clever monkey that lived in a colony of Japanese monkeys on the island of Koshima. She began taking her dirt-covered sweet potatoes to the river to wash them before eating them. Upon seeing this, a few other open-minded monkeys picked up on the idea. Potato washing then spread from monkey to monkey and, over the course of a few years, most monkeys were eating clean potatoes. Humans are clearly not the only animals to engage in imitation and social learning.

Learning by observation can be an extraordinarily valuable brain feature; this is how we learn to communicate and perform motor skills as well as deal with many everyday problems. For example, a newcomer struggling to purchase tickets and navigate the subway system in a foreign city may step back to learn from the people nearby. Humans and other primates exhibit multiple forms of imitative learning, and this is called cultural transmission.

A component of advertising relies on the marketer's ability to tap into the brain’s propensity for imitation. Anybody who has watched TV knows advertisements are disproportionately populated with attractive, successful-looking individuals. If we are going to imitate someone, we are more inclined to imitate those who appear to be popular and appealing.

Although not all researchers are convinced by the findings, a number of studies indicate that some animals also imitate dominant members of their group. Primatologist Frans de Waal provides anecdotal evidence of preferential imitation among chimpanzees. He noted that in one particular group, the dominant male was hurt and was limping as a result. Soon, unlikely if a non-dominant male had been injured.

Imitation is undoubtedly an invaluable ability, but often our propensity to imitate generalizes indiscriminately, leading to poor decisions. When athlete Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump by jumping over the bar backward in 1968, imitators obviously copied his jumping style, not his brand of sports shoes. However, today, sports people appear in advertisements asking us to buy the laptops or sports drinks that they promote. Rationally, we know these people's success did not depend on these products, so it seems our propensity to purchase products relates more to neural programs that evolved to encourage imitation of those further up the social ladder. Today, companies engage in stealth marketing campaigns in which people are paid to frequent bars or websites to covertly promote certain products. Companies also perform studies in which they track the eye movements of people viewing displays and carefully craft names, packages, and jingles associated with their products. While we may like to believe that manipulation on a grand scale would not be possible, that's not to say that advertising is innately harmful. To the contrary, the marketing of products or ideas is essential to human culture. The point is that we should ensure our choices reflect our actual goals and desires, and we must distinguish between the dissemination of information which is for our own good, and our manipulation for the benefit of companies.

• Which of the following is true of the advertising campaign that promoted diamond engagement rings?

  • A. The campaign was focused on increasing the sale of rings specifically.
  • B. The slogan "A diamond is forever" was used to promote the brand.
  • C. The campaign tried to associate diamonds with the idea of lasting love.
  • D. The campaign promoted diamond rings through price reductions.

• What is one reason why marketing is considered an effective mind-control technique?

  • A. It targets only the visual system.
  • B. It changes cultural practices.
  • C. It has no long-term effects on consumers.
  • D. It focuses exclusively on auditory systems.

• What was the result of the "socially transmitted food preference" experiment with rats?

  • A. Rats preferred the type of cereal they had eaten themselves.
  • B. Rats imitated the food preferences of other rats.
  • C. Rats refused to eat new types of food.
  • D. Rats ate both types of cereal in equal amounts.

• How did the potato-washing behavior spread among the monkeys on Koshima Island?

  • A. A dominant monkey ordered others to wash their food.
  • B. Only a few monkeys imitated the behavior.
  • C. The behavior spread through social learning among the monkeys.
  • D. The monkeys learned to wash potatoes from human visitors.

• Why is imitation considered important for human learning?

  • A. It is the only way humans learn to communicate.
  • B. It helps individuals learn from others' mistakes.
  • C. It is crucial for motor skills and problem-solving.
  • D. It limits our ability to learn from direct experience.

• What is one reason that humans imitate others, according to the passage?

  • A. They prefer to imitate unsuccessful individuals.
  • B. They are inclined to imitate those who seem popular and successful.
  • C. They tend to imitate only their closest relatives.
  • D. They avoid imitating dominant figures in society.

• What does the passage suggest about the effectiveness of marketing campaigns?

  • A. They are generally ineffective and do not change consumer behavior.
  • B. They can manipulate consumer choices by targeting imitation tendencies.
  • C. They work by focusing solely on promoting product quality.
  • D. They are ineffective because people make decisions based on rational thinking.

• What is the potential downside of our tendency to imitate others?

  • A. It helps people make better decisions.
  • B. It leads to indiscriminate imitation and poor choices.
  • C. It limits the spread of new ideas and trends.
  • D. It prevents people from learning new skills.

1. Manufactured
   Vietnamese: sản xuất, chế tạo
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The custom of giving diamond engagement rings was in large part manufactured by one of the most effective marketing campaigns in history."

2. Reshaping
   Vietnamese: tái tạo, thay đổi hình dạng
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "In 1938, this company hired an advertising agency which proposed reshaping social attitudes toward diamonds."

3. Anecdotal
   Vietnamese: giai thoại, kể lại
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Primatologist Frans de Waal provides anecdotal evidence of preferential imitation among chimpanzees."

4. Imitate
   Vietnamese: bắt chước
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Humans and other primates exhibit multiple forms of imitative learning and this is called cultural transmission."

5. Imitation
   Vietnamese: sự bắt chước
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "It is interesting to consider whether other animals exhibit anything analogous to humans' susceptibility to advertising."

6. Cultural transmission
   Vietnamese: truyền đạt văn hóa
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Humans and other primates exhibit multiple forms of imitative learning and this is called cultural transmission."

7. Propensity
   Vietnamese: khuynh hướng
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "A component of advertising relies on the marketer's ability to tap into the brain’s propensity for imitation."

8. Endorsing
   Vietnamese: chứng nhận, hỗ trợ
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Today, sports people appear in advertisements asking us to buy the laptops or sports drinks that they endorse."

9. Stealth
   Vietnamese: sự lén lút, bí mật
   IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Today, companies engage in stealth marketing campaigns in which people are paid to frequent bars or websites to covertly promote certain products."

10. Neural
    Vietnamese: thuộc về thần kinh
    IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "It seems our propensity to purchase products relates more to neural programs that evolved to encourage imitation of those further up the social ladder."

11. Swayed
    Vietnamese: bị ảnh hưởng
    IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "In the case of bottled water, we are swayed by advertising into paying for something that we can obtain for free."

12. Surreptitiously
    Vietnamese: một cách lén lút, bí mật
    IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "More surreptitiously, our olfactory system is targeted by variations of vanilla and citrus perfumes aimed at enticing us to linger in a retail outlet."

13. Anecdotal
    Vietnamese: giai thoại
    IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Primatologist Frans de Waal provides anecdotal evidence of preferential imitation among chimpanzees."

• C
• B
• B
• C
• C
• B
• B
• B