Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome

1. Discovery

   • Psychologist Pauline R. Clance, undergraduate patients: high grades but felt non-deserving or admissions error, felt same in graduate school
   • Clance+Imes Study
   • Definition/Manifestations
     • feelings of fraudulence
     • Refrain from sharing great idea or applying for jobs and programs where they’d excel due to feeling of inadequacy
     • Refrain from sharing great idea or applying for jobs and programs where they’d excel due to feeling of inadequacy

2. Solution or Relief?

   • Collect + revisit positivie feedback
   • Knowing there’s a name to the feeling
   • Peers to share same feelings
   • Discuss academic and professional challenges, and open up about these feelings
   • Advisor or mentor to share they experience same

3. Causes

   • “Pluralistic ignorance” – everyone doubts themselves privately, but since no one voices it, we all think we’re the only ones. So also those who aren’t highly skilled.
   • High skilled tend to think others are same, therefore don’t deserve accolades and opportunities over others

4. Who’s Susceptible?

   • Even indisputably great achievers, A.Einstein, Maya Angelou, no threshold of accomplishments can squall feeling
   • Slightly more prevalent in underrepresented or disadvantaged groups, presumably such as minority groups,
   • Across gender, race, age, occupation