Reading Passage 1
The Psychology of Innovation
Why are so few companies truly innovative?
Innovation is key to business survival and companies put substantial resources into inspiring
employees to develop new ideas. There are, nevertheless, people working in luxurious, state-ofthe-art centers designed to stimulate innovation who find that their environment doesn’t make
them feel at all creative. And there are those who don’t have a budget, or much space, but who
innovate successfully.
For Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, one reason that
companies don’t succeed as often as they should is that innovation starts with recruitment.
Research shows that the fit between an employee’s values and a company’s values makes a
difference to what contribution they make and whether, two years after they join, they’re still at
the company. Studies at Harvard Business School show that, although some individuals may be
more creative than others, almost every individual can be creative in the right circumstances.
One of the most famous photographs in the story of rock’n’roll emphasizes Ciaidini’s views. The
1956 picture of singers Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis jamming at
a piano in Sun Studios in Memphis tells a hidden story. Sun’s ‘million-dollar quartet’ could have
been a quintet. Missing from the picture is Roy Orbison’ a greater natural singer than Lewis,
Perkins or Cash. Sam Phillips, who owned Sun, wanted to revolutionize popular music with songs
that fused black and white music, and country and blues. Presley, Cash, Perkins and Lewis
instinctively understood Phillips’s ambition and believed in it. Orbison wasn’t inspired by the goal,
and only ever achieved one hit with the Sun label.
The value fit matters, says Cialdini, because innovation is, in part, a process of change, and under
that pressure we, as a species, behave differently, ‘When things change, we are hard-wired to play
it safe.’ Managers should therefore adopt an approach that appears counterintuitive -they should
explain what stands to be lost if the company fails to seize a particular opportunity. Studies show
that we invariably take more gambles when threatened with a loss than when offered a reward.


Managing innovation is a delicate art. It’s easy for a company to be pulled in conflicting directions
as the marketing, product development, and finance departments each get different feedback from
different sets of people. And without a system which ensures collaborative exchanges within the

company, it’s also easy for small ‘pockets of innovation‟ to disappear. Innovation is a contact
sport. You can’t brief people just by saying, ‘We’re going in this direction and I’m going to take
you with me.’
Cialdini believes that this ‘follow-the-leader syndrome, is dangerous, not least because it
encourages bosses to go it alone. ‘It’s been scientifically proven that three people will be better
than one at solving problems, even if that one person is the smartest person in the field.’ To prove
his point, Cialdini cites an interview with molecular biologist James Watson. Watson, together
with Francis Crick, discovered the structure of DNA, the genetic information carrier of all living
organisms. ‘When asked how they had cracked the code ahead of an array of highly accomplished
rival investigators, he said something that stunned me. He said “he and Crick had succeeded
because they were aware that they weren’t the most intelligent of the scientists pursuing the
answer. The smartest scientist was called Rosalind Franklin who, Watson said, “was so intelligent
she rarely sought advice”.’
Teamwork taps into one of the basic drivers of human behavior. ‘The principle of social proof is
so pervasive that we don’t even recognize it,’ says Cialdini. ‘If your project is being resisted, for
example, by a group of veteran employees, ask another old-timer to speak up for it.’ Cialdini is
not alone in advocating this strategy. Research shows that peer power, used horizontally not
vertically, is much more powerful than any boss’s speech.
Writing, visualizing and prototyping can stimulate the flow of new ideas. Cialdini cites scores of
research papers and historical events that prove that even something as simple as writing deepens
every individual’s engagement in the project. It is, he says, the reason why all those competitions
on breakfast cereal packets encouraged us to write in saying, in no more than 10 words: ‘I like
Kellogg’s Com Flakes because… .’ The very act of writing makes us more likely to believe it.
Authority doesn’t have to inhibit innovation but it often does. The wrong kind of leadership will
lead to what Cialdini calls “captivities, the regrettable tendency of team members to opt out of
team responsibilities that are properly their’. He calls it captivities because, he says, “crew
members of multipilot aircraft exhibit a sometimes deadly passivity when the flight captain makes


a clearly wrong-headed decision”. This behavior is not, he says, unique to air travel, but can happen

in any workplace where the leader is overbearing.
At the other end of the scale is the 1980s Memphis design collective, a group of young designers
for whom “the only rule was that there were no rule”. This environment encouraged a free
interchange of ideas, which led to more creativity with form, function, color and materials that
revolutionized attitudes to furniture design.
Many theorists believe the ideal boss should lead from behind, taking pride in collective
accomplishment and giving credit where it is due. Cialdini says: “Leaders should encourage
everyone to contribute and simultaneously assure all concerned that every recommendation is
important to making the right decision and will be given full attention”. The frustrating thing about
innovation is that there are many approaches, but no magic formula. However, a manager who
wants to create a truly innovative culture can make their job a lot easier by recognizing these
psychological realities.
Questions 1-4
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
1. The example of the ‘million-dollar quartet’ underlines the writer’s point about
A recognizing talent.
B working as a team.
C having a shared objective.
D being an effective leader.
2. James Watson suggests that he and Francis Crick won the race to discover the DNA code
because they
A were conscious of their own limitations.
B brought complementary skills to their partnership.
C were determined to outperform their brighter rivals.


D encouraged each other to realize their joint ambition.
3. The writer mentions competitions on breakfast cereal packets as an example of how to
A inspire creative thinking.

B generate concise writing.
C promote loyalty to a group.
D strengthen commitment to an idea.
4. In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that it is important for employees to
A be aware of their company's goals.
B feel that their contributions are valued.
C have respect for their co-workers‟ achievements.
D . a description of the positive outcomes of an education programme
Questions 5-9
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 5-9 on your answer sheet
5. Employees whose values match those of their employers are more likely to
6. At times of change, people tend to
7. If people are aware of what they might lose, they will often
8. People working under a dominant boss are liable to
9. Employees working in organizations with few rules are more likely to
A take chances.

B share their ideas.

C become competitive.


D get promotion.

E avoid risk.

F ignore their duties.

G remain in their jobs.


Questions 10-14
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 10-14 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
10 The physical surroundings in which a person works play a key role in determining their
creativity.
11 Most people have the potential to be creative.
12 Teams work best when their members are of equally matched intelligence.
13 It is easier for smaller companies to be innovative.
14 A manager’s approval of an idea is more persuasive than that of a colleague
Reading Passage 2
Early Childhood Education
New Zealand's National Party spokesman on education, Dr Lockwood Smith, recently visited the
US and Britain. Here he reports on the findings of his trip and what they could mean for New
Zealand's education policy


A
‘Education To Be More' was published last August. It was the report of the New Zealand
Government's Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. The report argued for
enhanced equity of access and better funding for childcare and early childhood education
institutions. Unquestionably, that's a real need; but since parents don't normally send children to
pre-schools until the age of three, are we missing out on the most important years of all?
B
A 13 year study of early childhood development at Harvard University has shown that, by the age
of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words - most of the language
they will use in ordinary conversation for the rest of their lives.

Furthermore, research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, if can be
suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life. Researchers claim that the human
personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children
learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school. Once over
the age of three, children continue to expand on existing knowledge of the world.
C
It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds fend to
do less well in our education system. That's observed not just in New Zealand, but also in Australia,
Britain and America. In an attempt to overcome that educational under-achievement, a nationwide
programme called 'Headstart' was launched in the United Slates in 1965. A lot of money was
poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to
help the children of poorer families succeed in school.
Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two
explanations for this. First, the programme began too late. Many children who entered it at the age
of three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the
parents were not involved. At the end of each day, '' children returned to the same disadvantaged
home environment.
D


As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a child's
life and the disappointing results from 'Headstart', a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in
the US that focused on parents as the child's first teachers. The 'Missouri' programme was
predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is
the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year
pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a
cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations. They included single-parent
and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mothr
or father at home.
The programme involved trained parent- educators visiting the parents' home and working with

tire parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to
look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child's
intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development. Periodic check-ups of the child's
educational and sensory development (hearing and vision) were made to detect possible handicaps
that interfere with growth and development. Medical problems were referred to professionals.
Parent-educators made personal visits to homes and monthly group meetings were held with other
new parents to share experience and discuss topics of interest. Parent resource centres, located in
school buildings, offered learning materials for families and facilitators for child core.
E
At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the 'Missouri' programme were
evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio-economic
backgrounds and family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were
phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced
in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other
intellectual skills, and were further along in social development, in fact, the average child on the
programme was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such things as
auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability.
Most important of all, the traditional measures of 'risk', such as parents' age and education, or
whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement


and language development. Children in the programme performed equally well regardless of socioeconomic disadvantages. Child abuse was virtually eliminated. The one factor that was found to
affect the child's development was family stress leading to a poor quality of parent-child
interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.
F
These research findings are exciting. There is growing evidence in New Zealand that children from
poorer socio-economic backgrounds are arriving at school less well developed and that our school
system tends to perpetuate that disadvantage. The initiative outlined above could break that cycle
of disadvantage. The concept of working with parents in their homes, or at their place of work,
contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Care and Education Working

Group. Their focus is on getting children and mothers access to childcare and institutionalized
early childhood education. Education from the age of three to five is undoubtedly vital, but without
a similar focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some
evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational inequity.
Questions 1-4
Reading Passage has six sections, A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
1 details of the range of family types involved in an education programme
2 reasons why a child’s early years are so important
3 reasons why an education programme failed
4 a description of the positive outcomes of an education programme
Questions 5-10
Classify the following features as characterizing
A the ' Headstart' programme
B the 'Missouri' programme


C both the 'Headstart' and the 'Missouri' programmes
D neither the 'Headstart' nor the 'Missouri’programme
Write the correct letter A. B, C or D in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
5 was administered to a variety of poor and wealthy families.
6 continued with follow-up assistance in elementary schools.
7 did not succeed in its aim.
8 supplied many forms of support and training to parents.
9 received insufficient funding.
10 was designed to improve pre-schoolers’ educational development.
Questions 11-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
11 Most ‘Missouri’ programme three-year-olds scored highly in areas such as listening,
speaking, reasoning and interacting with others.
12 ‘Missouri’ programme children of young, uneducated, single parents scored less highly on the
tests.
13 The richer families in the ‘Missouri’ programme had higher stress levels.