Impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological experience in which a person suffers from feelings of intellectual and/or professional fraudulence. One source defines it as "the subjective experience of perceived self-doubt in one's abilities and accomplishments compared with others, despite evidence to suggest the contrary". Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon do not believe they deserve their success or luck. They may think that they are deceiving others because they feel as if they are not as intelligent as they outwardly portray themselves to be.

Impostor syndrome is not a recognized psychiatric disorder and is not featured in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) nor is it listed as a diagnosis in the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11). Thus, clinicians lack information on the prevalence, comorbidities, and best practices for assessing and treating impostor syndrome. However, outside the academic literature, impostor syndrome has become widely discussed, especially in the context of achievement in the workplace.

Signs and symptoms

Impostor syndrome is studied as a reaction to particular stimuli and events. It is an experience that a person has, not a mental disorder. Impostor syndrome is not recognized in the DSM or ICD, although both of these classification systems recognize low self-esteem and sense of failure as associated symptoms of depression.

Although impostor syndrome is not a pathological condition, it is a distorted system of belief about oneself that can have a powerful negative impact on people's valuation of their own worth.

Comorbidity

People with impostor syndrome have a higher chance of suffering from depression and anxiety.

A 2025 study conducted by the University of Idaho concluded that "imposterism was strongly positively correlated to the subtypes of rigid and self-critical perfectionism, but showed a null correlation with narcissistic perfectionism. Thus, it appears imposterism and perfectionism are closely related constructs, but there are important distinctions between the subtypes of each."

Associated factors

Impostor syndrome is associated with several factors. Some of them are considered to be risk factors, while others are considered to be consequences. However, since the associations are documented in correlational studies, it is not possible to identify cause and effect.

Risk factors

Impostor syndrome is associated with neuroticism, low self-esteem and perfectionism. The term "impostorization" shifts the source of the phenomenon away from the supposed impostor to institutions whose policies, practices, or workplace cultures "either make or intend to make individuals question their intelligence, competence, and sense of belonging."

Implications

People with impostor syndrome tend to be less satisfied at work and have lower job performance.

Doubts about achievement – fear of failure/success and overpreparation. For example: "I often feel that I have to work harder than others to achieve all that I do".
Perceived discrepancy – discounting achievements and attributing success to external factors such as luck. For example: "I feel that I have attained my present academic or professional position through 'pulling strings' or 'having connections'".
Self-handicapping behaviours – avoidance and perfectionism. For example: "I find myself often leaving tasks to the last minute".

Management

Psychology professors dealing with impostor syndrome have suggested several recommendations for people in similar situations. These include:

Trying not to let emotions of worthlessness or uncertainty control one's actions, instead embracing fears and moving forward;
Considering accomplishments in the past as proof against impostor syndrome, and utilizing them as a fallback when one starts to doubt one's abilities;
Building a rapport with a counselor who can assist in identifying false ideas that perpetuate impostor syndrome;
Creating areas where one's identities are honored and expressed, as a reminder of one's belonging;
Helping others reject impostor beliefs by reflecting back to them their values, abilities, and talents. Assisting others may also work as a beneficial reminder for oneself.

Psychosocial interventions

In 2019, when a systematic review was conducted, none of the 62 studies on impostor syndrome empirically assessed the efficacy of treatment.

The researchers concluded that simply extracting the self-doubt before an event occurs helps eliminate feelings of impostorism.

Gender differences

When impostor syndrome was first conceptualised, it was viewed as a phenomenon that was common among high-achieving women. Further research has shown that it affects both men and women; the proportion affected are more or less equally distributed among the genders. People with impostor syndrome often have corresponding mental health issues, which may be treated with psychological interventions, though the phenomenon is not a formal mental disorder.

Clance and Imes stated in their 1978 article that, based on their clinical experience, impostor syndrome was less prevalent in men.

Girls were also more likely to have lower expectations of success than boys, even in a new and different achievement context, though they had actually performed better than boys. Healthy attribution patterns or having a positive way of understanding challenges and successes are particularly beneficial to women in male-dominated or difficult spaces. Further research has also suggested that women may experience higher societal pressure to prove competence in male-dominated fields, potentially amplifying impostor feelings in certain contexts. Additionally, women may experience more gender-based discrimination or harassment especially in male dominated workplaces which may increase feelings of depression and anxiety. Men, on the other hand, may experience stigma against openly discussing insecurities, which can mask the true prevalence of impostor syndrome among male populations.

Settings

Impostor syndrome can occur in other various settings. Some examples include a new environment, and in the workplace.

Tigranyan et al. (2021) examined the way imposter syndrome relates to psychology doctoral students. The purpose of the study was to investigate imposter syndrome's relationship to perfectionistic cognitions, depression, anxiety, achievement motives, self-efficacy, self-compassion, and self-esteem in clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students. Furthermore, this study sought to investigate how imposter syndrome interferes with academic, practicum, and internship performance of these students and how imposter syndrome manifests throughout a psychology doctoral program. Included were 84 clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students and they were instructed to respond to an online survey. The data was analyzed using a Pearson's product-moment correlation and a multiple linear regression. Eighty-eight percent of the students in the study reported at least moderate feelings of imposter syndrome characteristics. This study also found significant positive correlations between the imposter syndrome and perfectionistic cognitions, depression, anxiety, and self-compassion. This study indicates that clinical faculty and supervisors should take a supportive approach to assist students to help decrease feelings of imposter syndrome, in hopes of increasing feelings of competence and confidence.

History

The term impostor phenomenon was introduced in an article published in 1978, titled "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention" by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Clance and Imes defined impostor phenomenon as "an internal experience of intellectual phoniness". In 1985, Clance published a book on the topic, and the phenomenon became widely known.