IMG Complete

Imitation Game Paper Instructions

Over the course of the semester, each student will develop a three to four page (3-4) critical analysis* of the
Imitation Game film using the lens of the seven psychological perspectives discussed in Chapter 1 of Introduction to
Psychology by MindEdge Learning. (Biological, Evolutionary, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Humanistic, Cognitive,
Sociocultural). The final version of the paper must address at least three (3) topics from the topics listed below.

*Times New Roman 12 point, double spaced 1” margins. Roughly 250 words per typed page. I do not grade
on length, but whether or not you have appropriately covered the prompt. Highly concise writers may be
able to complete the assignment in fewer words. This is a general guideline only.

This paper will be broken into three parts: an outline, version 1, and version 2. You will receive substantial
feedback from the outline and the first version of the paper and these items must be incorporated into version two.
BOTH VERSIONS SHOULD BE TREATED AS FINAL COPIES, MEANING ROUGH DRAFTS AND
SUBSTANTIAL EDITING SHOULD TAKE PLACE BEFORE YOU TURN IN THE PAPERS. Your
instructor is available for consultation or you may go to the Writing Lab.

Minimum Requirement for the Outline (Due Week 12 on 4/13 BRING PRINTED COPY TO CLASS)
 A sample outline is provided. Follow it’s formatting.

Minimum Requirements for Version 1 (Due Week 13 on 4/20 11:59 pm)
 Introduction paragraph with a thesis and a concluding paragraph with a summary / take away point.
o The thesis must explicitly state the topics you intend to discuss.
 At least two (2) topics from the list below must be addressed.
 At least two (2) scholarly sources other than the class textbook.
o Note: You need to cite the textbook as well as your sources within the text parenthetically
(Author, Date) and including an APA style References page.
 At minimum, you must include four (4) paragraphs: Introduction, Topic Paragraph 1, Topic Paragraph 2,
and Conclusion. Ideally, you may have more than this. Each topic probably will be need to be broken into
sub paragraphs.
 Version 1 should be about two to three pages (2-3)

Minimum Requirements for Version 2 (Due Week 14 on 5/1 11:59 pm)
 Demonstrated use of instructor feedback from outline and the first version of the paper.
 The addition of a third topic from the list below.
 The addition of a third scholarly source.
 At minimum, you must have five (5) paragraphs:
o Introduction, Topic Paragraph 1, Topic Paragraph 2, Topic Paragraph 3, and Conclusion

For each topic you will need to address the following:

 The psychological science background including how it relates to at least one of the seven psychological
perspectives (Biological, Evolutionary, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Humanistic, Cognitive, Sociocultural).

 You may use different perspective for each topic or the same.
o The subtopics are listed for ideas, you do NOT have to cover all subtopics listed under a topic.
You must have topics from two (2) of the Bold headings for the first version and three (3) for the
second version.

 How it specifically relates to something in the Imitation Game. Assume the reader has not seen the movie,
provide sufficient detail for an understanding of the relevant details and psychological science.

 Discussion of correct/incorrect assumptions made by the movie about psychological science. You may
have to infer what a viewer might incorrectly associate. Note: This is where you are likely to need
scholarly / academic sources to back up your claims.

 DO NOT FOCUS ON HISTORICAL CHANGES BETWEEN THE MOVIE TIME AND CURRENT
TIME. FOCUS ON PRESENT PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE.

 Tie in additional research from either a peer reviewed article or an approved trade source

Imitation Game Paper Instructions

Appropriate Sources - ANY OTHER SOURCE REQUIRES PRIOR INSTRUCTOR APPROVAL.
(ALLOW AT LEAST 24 HOURS FOR APPROVAL.)

 Scientific American Mind
 Psychology Today

 Government Agency White Papers
 Peer reviewed journals

 Simply Psychology.org
 50 Myths Optional Textbook
 Commercially published Textbooks (Self-published Amazon books don’t count)
 Trade books written by experts in the field with Master’s level or higher credentials

TOPICS

(NOTE: You are only required to address 1 subtopic for each topic, but may
address more if you wish. Providing more than 1 subtopic does NOT reduce

the topic requirements for the papers)

Social Psychology Motivation

 Persuasion  Biological drives
 Group Influence  Social drives
 Prosocial Behavior  Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
 Antisocial Behavior  Self-Determination Theory
 Attraction  Job Characteristics Theory
 Stereotypes, Prejudice and
Memory
Discrimination
 Short term vs. long term memory
Human Sexuality  Forgetting
 Memory Retrieval
 Biological Gender Differences in
Cognitive Abilities Cognition

 Social issues with Gender Differences  Reasoning & Decision Making
 Gender Roles  Algorithms & Heuristics
 Sexual Orientation  Problem Solving & Ciphers

Biopsychology Language

 Neural Communication  Use of Language
 Endocrine system and influence on  Development of Language

behavior Intelligence
 Nervous system structure
 Drugs & Behavior

 Types of Intelligence
 Measurement of Intelligence
 Human vs. Artificial Intelligent

Student Name

Divergent Paper Outline [Yours will say Imitation Game paper]

[Only 1 topic is provided in the model. Your outline and first version requires 2 topics]

This is a conceptual outline to organize your thoughts before writing. It is not presented in the same order as
they appear in the sample paper. If you are more comfortable setting up your outline in the same order as your

paper, feel free to do so, but make sure you include all required elements.

o Personality (Topic 1)
 Film
• 5 baseline temperaments
o Amity, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, Dauntless
o Testing can determine placement-thus it’s entirely biological in nature
o Divergent are rare cases that fit into more than one category
o Traits in the film are based on macro level social constructs rather than
actual naturally occurring traits in a general population
• Perspectives
o Biological-inherited temperament
o Cognitive-deviant choice
o Behavioral-environmental influences on choice
 Psychological science [This is the relevant psychological science related to the topic –
draw this from your textbook and one external source per topic].
• Various traits are biologically influenced
• Temperaments are inborn
• Traits cannot be easily mixed into groups. While correlations exist individual
differences vary widely.
• Five factor personality model does not align to traits listed in film
• Situational influences can override trait characteristics in some instances
 Source [Proper APA Citations are required on the References Page]
 [1 source is required per topic]
• Personality Puzzle—Funder
• Genetic & Environmental Influences on Observed Personality: Evidence from the
German Observational Study of Adult Twins

o Social Psychology (Topic 2)
 Film
• [Info]
o [Details]
• Perspectives
o [Details]
 Psychological Science
• [Details]
 Source
• [General Reference only required on outline]

Divergent: An Analysis of Psychological Science in Popular Media Commented [JS1]: These two sentences are the paper
Note this model only contains an introduction and a single topic. The first version requires a second topic and a thesis. You must end the intro paragraph with a similar
conclusion paragraph. Thus a minimum of 4 paragraphs and 1 source other than ME Introduction to statement. Do not copy this verbatim it would be
Psychology. This covers 1 topic robustly across multiple paragraphs. Your paper is not expected to go into this plagiarism. You need to include the topic names in your
level of depth. thesis. You must explicitly name the topics you intend to
discuss in the thesis statement.
It is no surprise that since psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes film media is filled
with numerous examples of how psychological concepts apply to fictional life. As art imitates reality such Commented [JS2]: You need to start with a general
films provide an excellent source for explaining key principles, however it is important to realize that overview of the film. Further details may be necessary for
Hollywood doesn’t always yield to the proper portrayal of facts. Consequently, an evaluation of the distortion each topic. You may present this in it’s own paragraph if
of the actual science is warranted before moving forward with any conclusions about human nature. The film you prefer, but it does not count as a topic.
Divergent provides an opportunity to examine key concepts in personality and social psychology.
Commented [JS3]: It is necessary to address at least one
The base premise of Divergent specifies all humans fall naturally into five temperaments, or factions. A of the 7 psychological perspectives for each topic.
very limited subpopulation classify into more than one group—the titular Divergent. The film persuades the
viewer that temperaments are static in nature. The testing process and narration imply that social influence Commented [JS4]: In text citations are required.
plays a role—specifically that most people stay within the same faction as their families. However, the testing
procedure suggests the faction qualities are biologically driven. In this regard the biological, cognitive and
behavioral approaches apply. Biological because the traits are derived through genetic inheritance. Cognitive
as the individual is given a choice as to which faction they join even if it disagrees with the testing and
behavioral as the influence of the family shapes the “personality” in some cases. Individual differences are
evident since family members do not universally stay within the same faction according to testing. This is
consistent with actual psychological science. Biological, social and cognitive factors play into macro level
behavioral determinants (Funder, 2004). Even identical twins raised in the same environment fail to converge
in trait expressions (Borkenau, Riemann, Angleitner & Spinath, 2004).

The film identifies the temperaments as amity, abnegation, erudite, candor and dauntless. This practice
does mirror the lexical factor analysis process that is used in the trait theory of personality (MindEdge, 2015).
The film however, does not describe traits, but temperaments. In formal psychology a temperament is a
combination of discrete traits (Funder, 2004). Temperaments are only valid when the individual is very strong

on one pole on all the traits that make up the temperament. For example, a strongly introverted person will Commented [JS5]: Notice this talks about what is
reliability rate as introverted in most situations, but a moderately introverted individual will show characteristics accurately portrayed and inaccurately portrayed. Provide
of extroversion and introversion. this structure in your paper as appropriate.

Another deviation between the film and actual psychological science lies in the traits defined. The Commented [JS6]: This is a subtopic, rather than a
prevailing model of universal stable traits in humans is known as the five factor model (FFM). This model was second topic. You do not have to have a subtopic for each
developed by Costa & McCrae in the early 1990s (Funder, 2004). It defines the main traits or domains as topic for the first version.
conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, openness to experience and neuroticism (Mindedge, 2015).
While openness to experience may loosely align with dauntless, it is not an exact match and the rest of the Commented [JS7]: You may use MindEdge as a source
primary traits do not align to the five factors. Research does indicate that numerous personality traits or facets, and it must be cited, however it does not count as the
sub-factors of the FFM domains, are biologically determined (Borkenau, Riemann, Angleitner & Spinath, required topic source.
2004). However, the virtues defined in the film are not among them. Intelligence is genetically driven and
erudite is closely connected with intelligence. However the erudite faction is portrayed as having both
emotional intelligence and a high g-factor. These are distinct constructs and do not always correlated positively
in the same person.

[A second topic will be required here]

[A conclusion paragraph should sum up the premise and give a general overview of the supporting argument.]

References Commented [JS8]: Properly formatted APA References
Borkenau, P., Riemann, R., Angleitner, A. & Spinath, F. (2004). Genetic and environmental page must be included with First Version

influences on observed personality: Evidence from the German observational study of
adult twins. In D.C. Funder & D.J. Ozer (Eds.), Pieces of the Personality Puzzle (3rd ed.,
pp 165-175). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. (Reprinted from Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 2001).
Funder, D.C. (2004). The Personality Puzzle: Third Edition. New York: NY: W.W. Norton &
Company.

Rubric for Imitation Game Paper
Graded on 120 Points (worth 7.5% of Final Grade)

Category Excellent Good Acceptable Needs Absent
10 pts 8 pts 6 pts Improvement 0 pts
Introduction
10 pts 3 pts

Movie Summary Intro Paragraph Thesis present but fails Intro Paragraph is Intro paragraph is 0 points
10 pts includes functional to explicitly list topics present, but lacks poorly constructed, No Introduction
functional thesis thesis is absent or No paragraph
Conclusion thesis difficult to interpret
10 pts Summary is
Summary is Summary is sufficient incomplete or Summary is poorly
References Page sufficient to set to set context but significantly longer executed and context is
10 pts poorly tied into the than necessary, but
context does not set context unclear
paper or summary is
too detailed

Conclusion Conclusion mostly Conclusion fails to Conclusion present, but No Conclusion
supports thesis and covers required support thesis OR fails to support thesis
elements but not does not wrap up AND does not wrap up
neatly wraps up effectively
points points points

60 to 80% of

References page is 80% or more of formatting is correct Less than 60% of No References
included in correct formatting is correct on References page formatting is correct on Page
on References page
APA format All sources present OR References Page
Feldman source not Sources may be

present, all other missing
sources present

Lower formatting Any source missing
other than Feldman
score and missing
Feldman only 

Needs Improvement

Category Excellent Good Acceptable Needs Absent
40 points 30 points 20 points Improvement 0 points

Topic 1 No Any 1 item from Any 2 items from 10 points No Topic
Topic 2 missing/incomplete the list below is the list below is Paragraph or it
(Each Topic is Any 3 items from does not address
worth 40 points) items missing or missing or the list below is
incomplete: incomplete: any of the
missing or requirements.
incomplete:

Movie facts are Movie facts are Movie facts are Movie facts are
appropriate appropriate appropriate appropriate

Psychological Psychological science Psychological science Psychological science

science is included is included and is included and is included and

and correct. correct. correct. correct.

Psychological Psychological Psychological Psychological

Perspective is Perspective is included Perspective is included Perspective is included

included

Source other than Source other than Source other than

Source other than Mindedge used and Mindedge used and Mindedge used and

Mindedge used and correctly cited. correctly cited correctly cited.

correctly cited.

Imitation Game Paper Checklist
Introductory Paragraph

High level discussion of movie events
Discussion of distortion of psychological science in popular film
Statement of exposure of science show in Imitation game
Two topics discussion explicitly named in final sentence
Movie Background Paragraph
A high level overview of movie events to set context for the rest of the paper.
Topic I (may be more than 1 paragraph)
Discussion of related movie events
Discussion of related psychological science
Discussion of what is portrayed correctly/incorrectly according to psychological

science
Discussion at least 1 psychological perspective
Quality secondary source other than MindEdge textbook
Topic II (may be more than 1 paragraph)
Discussion of related movie events
Discussion of related psychological science
Discussion of what is portrayed correctly/incorrectly according to psychological

science
Discussion at least 1 psychological perspective
Quality secondary source other than MindEdge textbook
Summary Paragraph (probably 4 to 5 sentences in length)
Supporting evidence from paper to validate thesis (movies show psychological
science in shades of correctness)
Neatly tie up the paper in the final sentence
References Page
Properly formatted APA references page