Casa ESL · B2 Upper Intermediate · Unit 5 of 20 · Step 1

Psychology & Behaviour

Cleft Sentences

✓Form and use it-cleft sentences for emphasis (It was X that...)
✓Form and use wh-cleft sentences (What I need is..., The reason why...)
✓Discuss psychological concepts and human behaviour using emphasis structures

Name

Date

Vocabulary

cognitive

adjective

Relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgement, and reasoning.

"Cognitive biases can distort our decision-making without our awareness."

stimulus

noun

Something that provokes a reaction or response.

"The researchers measured how participants responded to each stimulus."

conformity

noun

Behaviour that matches the attitudes and practices of the majority.

"Social conformity can lead people to suppress their own opinions."

intrinsic

adjective

Belonging naturally; essential and inherent rather than externally imposed.

"Intrinsic motivation comes from within, not from rewards."

resilience

noun

The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or adversity.

"Psychological resilience is a key factor in long-term well-being."

perception

noun

The way in which something is understood, interpreted, or regarded.

"Our perception of risk is often influenced by emotion rather than data."

bias

noun

An inclination or prejudice for or against something, often unconscious.

"Confirmation bias leads people to seek information that supports their existing beliefs."

empathy

noun

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

"Empathy is considered essential for effective leadership."

Grammar Focus

Cleft sentences for emphasis

Cleft sentences restructure a simple sentence to emphasise a particular element. It-clefts: 'It was/is + emphasised element + that/who + rest of sentence' — e.g., 'It was the lack of sleep that caused the error.' Wh-clefts: 'What + subject + verb + is/was + emphasised element' — e.g., 'What surprised me was her calmness.' Other wh-cleft patterns: 'The reason why... is that...', 'The thing that... is...', 'The person who... was...'

It was the social pressure that made him conform, not his own belief.

What researchers discovered was that memory is far less reliable than we assume.

The reason why people procrastinate is that they fear failure more than inaction.

It is empathy, not intelligence, that makes someone a great leader.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Rewrite the underlined information as a cleft sentence for emphasis.

1. the environment, not genetics, shaped his personality. (It-cleft)

2. fascinated the researchers the speed of the response. (Wh-cleft)

3. she needs more time to process her emotions. (Wh-cleft)

4. confirmation bias leads people to ignore contradictory evidence. (It-cleft)

5. people struggle with change that uncertainty triggers anxiety. (The reason why... is that...)

Exercise 2

Choose the correct cleft sentence that emphasises the underlined word.

1. FEAR motivates people to avoid risk. →

2. The results SURPRISED the entire research team. →

3. She changed her behaviour because of PEER PRESSURE. →

Reading

The Power of Cognitive Bias

What makes cognitive biases so dangerous is that they operate below the level of conscious awareness. It is not ignorance that leads intelligent people to make poor decisions — it is the systematic errors built into human cognition. One of the most well-documented biases is the anchoring effect: when people are exposed to an initial piece of information, their subsequent judgements are disproportionately influenced by it. For instance, if a negotiator opens with an extreme offer, the final agreement tends to gravitate toward that anchor. The reason why this matters beyond the laboratory is that cognitive biases affect everything from medical diagnoses to financial markets. What researchers have found is that simply being aware of a bias does not eliminate it. The thing that helps most is implementing structured decision-making processes — checklists, second opinions, and deliberate pauses — that counteract our automatic thinking patterns.

1. What is the anchoring effect, according to the passage?

2. According to the passage, what helps counteract cognitive biases?

Speaking

Discuss these questions with a partner or your teacher.

1Discuss: 'It is society, not the individual, that is responsible for most behavioural problems.' Do you agree? Use cleft sentences to emphasise key points in your argument.
2Tell your partner about a time when your perception of something turned out to be wrong. What was it that misled you? What did you learn? Use at least two cleft structures.

Writing

Write 5–8 sentences about a psychological concept that interests you (e.g., conformity, motivation, memory). Use at least three cleft sentences to emphasise key ideas.

Example: What fascinates me most about psychology is the concept of intrinsic motivation. It is not external rewards that drive lasting achievement — it is internal satisfaction. The reason why some people persist where others give up is that they find genuine meaning in what they do. What research consistently shows is that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are the strongest motivators.

Answer Key — For Teacher Use

Exercise 1

1. It was / that · 2. What / was · 3. What / is · 4. It is / that · 5. The reason why / is

Exercise 2

1. It is fear that motivates people to avoid risk. · 2. What surprised the entire research team was the results. · 3. It was peer pressure that made her change.

Reading Comprehension

1. The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where an initial piece of information disproportionately influences subsequent judgements — for example, an extreme opening offer in a negotiation pulls the final agreement toward that anchor. · 2. Implementing structured decision-making processes such as checklists, second opinions, and deliberate pauses helps counteract automatic thinking patterns.

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