Imposter Syndrome Defined: 5 Fascinating Research Findings

Impostor syndrome has become a well-known concept as a result of the large body of literature in popular media that highlights its presence, particularly in the context of work, and that is focused on offering solutions about how to cope with it (Bravata et al., 2019; Feenstra et al., 2020). Bravata et al. (2019), in the first ever systematic review on impostor syndrome, identify that in the past several years there has also been a surge of peer-reviewed articles in this area. This article aims to highlight some core research findings that can help to increase understanding about what impostor syndrome is and how it manifests.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome is a term that originates from the research by Clance and Imes in 1978 which was focused on women who are high achievers. They originally used the phrase ‘impostor phenomenon’ to describe an internal state of mind where a person believes that they are unintelligent, unsuccessful, and incompetent although this is incongruent with the view others have of them. The person often feels like they are a fraud or a fake and they worry that at any moment others are going to discover the ‘real’ truth about them (Clance & Imes, 1978).

A person with impostor syndrome tends to find it difficult to accept positive feedback and praise from others and therefore their conviction in their beliefs about being an impostor are maintained (LaDonna et al., 2018). They blame themselves when things go wrong and attribute success to external factors or exceptions such as luck, rather than to their own abilities (Bravata et al., 2019).

Increased knowledge about the prevalence of impostor syndrome has highlighted that contrary to the findings by Clance and Imes (1978), impostor syndrome is not just experienced by high-achieving women. Rather, anyone can experience impostor syndrome irrespective of age, gender, and career. The findings of the systematic review by Bravata et al. (2019), is based on 66 peer reviewed papers, and this identified that there are no significant differences in the prevalence of impostor syndrome amongst men and women. They highlight that impostor syndrome is also seen amongst people from multiple ethnic minority groups. Furthermore, even people who are advanced in their career are found to doubt their achievements (LaDonna, Ginsburg, & Watling, 2018). These findings encourage clinicians to pay attention to the presence of impostor syndrome in the population in general (Bravata et al., 2019). 

5 Types and Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome

People may present with certain symptoms that can indicate the presence of impostor syndrome. There is a high comorbidity between impostor syndrome and depression and anxiety. Other consequences associated with impostor syndrome include burnout, physical exhaustion, decreased job satisfaction and performance (Bravata et al., 2019; Chandra, Huebert, Crowley, & Das, 2019).

In addition to this, Young (2011) has identified that impostor syndrome can manifest in five different ways. Whilst there may be shared signs and symptoms across all forms of impostor syndrome, these five subtypes vary somewhat in behavioural and cognitive patterns because of differences in how self-competence is evaluated by the person. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Perfectionists

People who have perfectionist tendencies have very high expectations of themselves and measure their competence based on whether they are 100% successful. They have a fear of failing and being criticised by others. Therefore, they focus on how things could be better and even the smallest mistakes become a significant threat to their confidence and abilities. They have an all-or-nothing way of thinking which leaves little room for flexibility. Perfectionists use several strategies to prevent the possibility of failure such as working over-time, not taking breaks, over-preparing, and using self-criticism and self-doubt, to motivate themselves to keep on top of their ‘A-game’. They also minimise their successes, disregard positive feedback from others, which consequently hinders their ability to acknowledge their strengths and achievements and reinforces their sense that they do not know what they are doing and they are not good enough.

Superheroes

Some people develop a superhero tendency where they assess their competence based on how much they can multi-task and how many roles they can take on at the same time. They have a negative view of themselves as incompetent and a positive view of others as competent. They aim to prove everyone wrong and earn people’s approval. Therefore, they push themselves to the limit to ensure that they work harder than others and achieve more success in everything that they do. They may perceive ‘doing nothing’ and relaxing as a waste of time and may neglect and lose sight of their past-times.

Experts

Those who develop expert tendencies gage their competence based on how much they know. They believe that they need to know everything about everything. They may do this by gathering all the information possible about a topic and exerting a lot of time, effort, and energy into preparing, prior to taking action. Nevertheless, they may still believe that what they know is never enough and as a result they avoid asking questions in groups and sharing their opinions. They may avoid approaching challenges such as applying for interviews if they do not meet all the criteria, due to fear of being exposed as not knowing enough.

Geniuses

Certain people with impostor syndrome believe that they should be natural geniuses and measure their competence based on how easily they can achieve things. They may be used to doing well without necessarily having to work very hard for it and have a history of being a straight-A student and being seen as ‘the smart one’. Therefore, they come to believe that things should immediately come naturally to them and expect themselves to master a new skill and get it right the first time. Having to work hard or struggling to learn a new skill is considered a negative characteristic and this triggers their sense inadequacy. As a result, they may avoid trying or facing new challenges, to avoid discovering that they are not immediately good at them.

Soloists

Some people take on a role of the soloist where they believe that competence is only achieved if they accomplish things on their own. They prefer to work alone and push back on working collaboratively with others and consider asking for help to be a weakness and sign of inadequacy. 

What Causes Imposter Syndrome?

Research points towards both internal and external factors as contributing towards impostor syndrome. Feenstra et al. (2020) acknowledge people’s personality style (Vergauwe et al., 2014) and attachment patterns (Sonnak & Towell, 2001) have been identified as internal causes of impostor syndrome. However, they argue that it is important not to underestimate the role of external factors such as societal narratives, relationships, and, the person’s environment, in causing impostor syndrome. 

The way a person is perceived, judged, or treated by others can influence the person’s view of themselves (Feenstra et al., 2020). This is supported by the original research by Clance and Imes (1978) that indicates that impostor syndrome can develop amongst children who are evaluated by their families as less intelligent compared to other family members. This can drive a child to prove their family wrong and that they are intellectually competent.

Impostor syndrome is also found to develop in families that perceive their child as superior, of high intellectual ability, and capable of easily doing anything they set their mind to (Clance & Imes, 1978). These children may come to believe that they should be able to achieve things without difficulty. Finding themselves in situations where they do struggle, can trigger self-doubts and beliefs that they are not as competent as others think. This can  plant the seed that they must therefore be an impostor.

Being exposed to high criticism and stereotypes may also be a cause of impostor syndrome. Societal stereotypes that label certain groups of people as less competent, capable, and intelligent may result in some people internalising these narratives and believing them to be a reflection of who they are (Buczynski, Harrell, McGonigal, & Siegel, n.d.). This has been found in relation to stereotypes that women are less competent and have less leadership skills than men (Cokley et al., 2015), and to stereotypes that people from ethnic minority groups are lazy and unintelligent (Reyna, 2008). Awareness of these stereotypes may cause people to feel insecure if they find themselves in roles and positions that they are not expected to be in and this can trigger feelings and beliefs of being an impostor (Feenstra et al., 2020).  

Impostor syndrome can also be triggered by life transitions such as a changes in jobs, getting promoted, and graduating (Rakestraw, 2017). Transitions, even for those who are advancing in their career, can naturally trigger self-doubts which hinder their belief in themselves and their abilities in this new role (LaDonna et al., 2018). 

3 Real-Life Examples

Below are three examples taken from clinical practice that demonstrate how impostor syndrome can manifest. These three examples integrate information from several clients in order to protect confidentiality and ensure clients’ anonymity.

Meet Rob

Rob’s dad has always discouraged him from taking his chosen career path and they often argued about this. In response, Rob became determined to prove his dad wrong by succeeding and being the best in his career. In his first job he took on roles and responsibilities that were beyond his job description and what was expected of him. He even pushed himself to help his colleagues with their workload which resulted in him doing work for them at times. Through these gestures he hoped to impress his colleagues and boss and prove to them that he can do it, just like he sought to prove this to his dad. When others commented on his effectiveness and efficiency, he felt good about himself and this drove him to work longer hours. However, this meant that twelve months into his job he started to experience high levels of anxiety and signs of burnout.

Meet Jennie

Jennie was always a hard worker and her efforts and successes were often acknowledged. She was closely supported by her parents who both came from more impoverished backgrounds and wanted their child to have the educational opportunities they never had. It was important for Jennie that she did not let the parents and other people down. She carefully considered what she said to people and spent a long time ruminating on what she said and what she should have said differently. She worried about how others perceived her because she believed that she was not good enough, and dismissed any evidence to the contrary. Her attention remained biased towards things she did not do well and this stopped her from celebrating her strengths and achievements in the present and reduced her general well-being.

Meet Charlie

Charlie was immediately identified as a bright child. He came from a family of high achievers where intelligence and success were highly valued. He enjoyed school and therefore studying was not an onerous task. From a young age he was the top of his class and received multiple awards and he continued to excel throughout his career. He had potential to develop further and had a range of interests such as starting his own company and learning a new language. However, he withdrew from pursuing these prospects because he did not want to risk failing or finding it hard. As a result, he avoided these new experiences, did not give himself permission to try and instead stuck to things he was guaranteed he was good at. 

Behind Its Psychology: 3 Fascinating Research Findings

1.      The vicious cycle of impostor syndrome- Link to anxiety and perfectionism

Impostor syndrome can be hard to break out of because people can get caught in a vicious cycle. Fears of failure and of being found out is the worst thing imaginable for someone with impostor syndrome. This can be a cause of significant anxiety and to avoid this happening, people tend to develop a range of unhelpful coping strategies such as perfectionism and procrastination (Chandra et al., 2019).

These strategies may lead to success and praise from others. However, this praise is not internalised because people who are perfectionist attribute their success to their hard work and high standards, and people who procrastinate attribute their success to getting lucky at the last minute. This maintains their belief that they are an impostor and a vicious cycle begins where they feel anxious again about being found out, and therefore they engage in their coping strategies to avoid failure at all costs (Rakestraw, 2017).

2.      Stunted success with impostor syndrome

Ironically, over time the viscous cycle of impostor syndrome may lead people to a lot of success in their career. However, higher levels of success do not necessarily shift their internal beliefs about their competence. Rather, they may further question how they found themselves in such successful positions and this may leave them feeling like an even greater fraud. They may avoid looking for or taking up new opportunities and this may stop them from fulfilling their full potential (Chandra et al., 2019). Consequently, by downplaying their skills and minimising their achievements they may unintentionally end up sabotaging their own career progression (Vergauwe, Wille, Feys, De Fruyt, & Anseel, 2014; Mullangi & Jagsi, 2019).

3.      The secrecy of impostor syndrome

The fraudulent nature of impostor syndrome brings with it a great secrecy (Harvey, 1985) and sense of shame. The trepidation of being found out increases the urgency to hide the ‘ugly truth’ because of the risk that people will not accept them and may disapprove of them. As a result, many end up suffering in silence (Chandra et al., 2019) and alone (Matthews & Glance, 1985). This has important implications for how clinicians and leaders can support people to manage impostor syndrome. It is suggested that being able to name and acknowledge the presence of impostor syndrome can enable people to start to talk more openly about it (Chandra et al., 2019) and doing so in a group format may be beneficial and therapeutic (Bravata et al., 2019).

4.      The terminology of impostor syndrome

Research challenges the usefulness of the terminology ‘impostor syndrome’ highlights differences in terminology in the literature. Clance and Imes. (1978) originally used the phrase ‘impostor phenomenon’ however lay literature and scientific research predominantly use the term ‘impostor syndrome’ (Feenstra et al., 2020). The terminology of ‘syndrome’ may unintentionally lead clients to labelling themselves and others as having a condition (Feenstra et al., 2020). A possible consequence is that people may further identify with having this ‘syndrome’ even though impostor syndrome is not technically an official psychiatric disorder. It may be important for clinicians to be aware of what impact the terminology has for an individual and to work with them to find a language that is workable and helpful for them.

5.      The psychological and social treatment of impostor syndrome

Given that impostor syndrome is not recognised as a psychiatric disorder, there is limited research around evidence-based psychological interventions to address it. The high prevalence of anxiety and depression that comes with impostor syndrome, means that cognitive behavioural therapy is typically used as the therapeutic approach when working with people though further research around both individual and group interventions is needed (Bravata et al., 2019).

Feenstra et al. (2020) advocate for research to also focus on interventions that can be offered at a societal, interpersonal, and organisational level because changing the external narratives associated with impostor syndrome may help individuals to shift their internal narratives. In this way the evidence-based interventions will not just locate the focus of responsibility on individuals changing and managing their patterns of impostor syndrome. Rather they recommend broader efforts to challenge societal stereotypes and facilitate and create equal opportunities and positions for people irrespective of age, gender, and ethnic background. 

Working and Coping with Impostor Syndrome

One way of breaking through the impostor syndrome cycle is to become more aware of our thought patterns and how we are relating to them (Buczynski,et al., n.d.). Thoughts about being incompetent can feel so powerful and convincing that we start to believe them to be true. However, just because we have a thought about being impostor does not mean that we are an impostor and therefore does not define who we are as a person.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a core skill that can enables us to recognise and name our thoughts and emotions in the present moment without judging them as good or bad and without giving ourselves a hard time for having these tricky thoughts. By becoming familiar with the typical thinking patterns of impostor syndrome, we give them a name and a title such as the ‘impostor story’ or ‘the incompetent movie’.

The aim of mindfulness practice is not to get rid of these stories. This is not in our control to achieve. Rather, through mindfulness we can train ourselves to relate to them and pay attention to them differently and with a lighter touch. We can start to develop a dual experience where recognise the thoughts popping up in our mind, whilst also observing the thoughts from a distance without ignoring them nor buying into them. We can learn to watch our thoughts come and go, just like we watch the credits appearing and disappearing from the screen. This practice can give us some space from the thoughts and stories our mind tells us and enable us to change behaviours associated with impostor syndrome and act in line with our values, which in turn can improve how we feel.

Compassion

Compassion is another fundamental skill that brings a wisdom to our experience and understands that these difficulties with impostor syndrome have developed in the context of our nature, nurture and life experiences. This is not our fault and yet we have a choice in how we respond to impostor syndrome from now on, in ways that are going to be helpful rather than cause further anxiety and suffering. Compassion allows us to relate to our repetitive thinking patterns and behaviours with a gentle, warm, and kind presence where we do not judge ourselves or give ourselves a hard time for struggling with the vicious cycle of impostor syndrome. 

Self-criticism tends to work hand-in-hand with impostor syndrome, and may function to motivate people to avoid failure and prevent being found out. Compassion-based motivation can be a helpful alternative that allows us to motivate ourselves to achieve and thrive in an encouraging rather than a self-critical way to achieve our goals. 

An important part of this process entails learning to appreciate the qualities that we have already. Instead of dismissing our strengths and achievements. which we know can maintain our beliefs of being an impostor, we can train ourselves to pay attention to our successes, actively listen to praise and compliments, and let the positive emotions start to sink in, even just for a few seconds. If this feels uncomfortable and foreign, that is to be expected because we are breaking an old habit and creating a new one.

Even the intention to acknowledge our positives as readily as we acknowledge our negatives, is a meaningful starting point to create a more balanced of ourselves as human beings who matter, who have strengths, who make mistakes, who do not know everything, who can learn and who still have a lot to offer this world.

References 

Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., et al. (2019). Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: A Systematic Review, J Gen Intern Med; 35(4): 1252–1275.

Buczynski, Harrell, McGonigal, & Siegel. (n.d.). Working with Core Beliefs of ‘Never Good Enough’: How Social Prejudice Can Cultivate Imposter Syndrome with R. Buczynski, PhD; Shelly Harrell, PhD; Kelly McGonigal, PhD; and Ron Siegel, PsyD. National Institute for the Clinical Application for Behavioural Medicine. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://s3.amazonaws.com/nicabm-stealthseminar/NeverGoodEnough17/confirmed/NeverGoodEnough-BonusVideo1.pdf

Chandra, S, Huebert, C. A., Crowley, E., & Das, A. M. (2019). Impostor Syndrome: Could It Be Holding You or Your Mentees Back? Commentary: Teaching, education, and career hub; 156, 1, P26-32

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Group Dyn; 15(3): 241-247.

 Cokley, K., Awad, G., Smith, L., Jackson, S., Awosogba, O., Hurst, A., et al. (2015). The roles of gender stigma consciousness, impostor phenomenon and academic self-concept in the academic outcomes of women and men. Sex Roles 73, 414–426.

Feenstra, S., Begeny, C.T., Ryan, M. K., Rink, F. A., Stoker, J. I, &Jordan, J. (2020). Contextualizing the Impostor “Syndrome” Front. Psychol., 13.

Harvey, J. C. (1985). If I’m So Successful, Why Do I Feel Like a Fake? St Martins Press.

LaDonna, K. A., Ginsburg, S., & Watling, C. (2018). Rising to the Level of Your Incompetence: What Physicians’ Self-Assessment of Their Performance Reveals About the Imposter Syndrome in Medicine. Academic Medicine; 93 (5): 763-768(6)

 Matthews, G., & Clance P. R. (1985). Treatment of the impostor phenomenon in psychotherapy clients. Psychother Priv Pract;3(1):71-81.

 Mullangi, S., & Jagsi, R. (2019). Imposter Syndrome: Treat the Cause, Not the Symptom. JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association; 322(5):403

Rakestraw, L. (2017). How to Stop Feeling Like a Phony in Your Library: Recognizing the Causes of the Imposter Syndrome, and How to Put a Stop to the Cycle. Law Library Journal; 109:3

Reyna, C. (2008). Ian is intelligent but Leshaun is lazy: antecedents and consequences of attributional stereotypes in the classroom. Eur. J. Psychol. Educ. 23, 439–458. 

Sonnak, C., and Towell, T. (2001). The impostor phenomenon in British university students: relationships between self-esteem, mental health, parental rearing style and socioeconomic status. Pers. Indiv. Dif. 31, 863–874.

Vergauwe, J., Wille, B. Feys, M., De Fruyt, F., & Anseel, F. (2014). Fear of Being Exposed: The Trait-Relatedness of the Impostor Phenomenon and its Relevance in the Work Context. Journal of Business and Psychology; 30, 565–581.

 Young, V. (2011). The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It. Crown Publishing Group, Division of Random House Inc.