Your Brain Is Lying to You
Grammar: Modal Verbs
A Level 5 English lesson exploring psychology.
What's in this lesson
A Level 5 (advanced) ESL lesson on psychology, practising modal verbs. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: Your Brain Is Lying to You
Here is a question. A surgery has a 90% survival rate. Would you agree to it? Most people say yes. Now rephrase it: the surgery kills one in ten patients. Suddenly, the same operation feels far more dangerous. The numbers are identical. Your reaction is not. This is the framing effect, and it could arguably be the single most disruptive idea in modern economics — not because it is exotic, but because it is everywhere.
Vocabulary
- framing effect
- System 1
- System 2
- heuristic
- cognitive bias
- certainty spectrum
- loss aversion
- bounded rationality
- Anchoring bias
- nudge theory
Grammar: Modal Verbs
- may well / might
- This heuristic may well explain most pricing errors. — hedged probability, academic register
- could arguably / must
- Loss aversion could arguably be the most studied bias. — invited reader agreement, journalistic hedge
Discussion questions
- Imagine you win €50 — how does that feel compared to losing €50?
- Would you eat a chocolate shaped like a cockroach if the taste were identical?
- If a doctor gave you a 90% chance of surviving, would you feel reassured?
Your Brain Is Lying to You
Grammar: Modal Verbs
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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