The Impostor Phenomenon: Toward a Better Understanding of the Nomological Network and Gender Differences

Abstract

The impostor phenomenon (IP) refers to the tendency to perceive oneself as intellectually incompetent and to attribute one’s own success to effort-related or external factors, such as fortunate circumstances. The present study (N=209) aimed to contribute to open questions regarding gender differences in the IP and the nomological network of the IP. The results show that the consistently found key correlates of the IP, that is, lower self-esteem and higher neuroticism, could also play a role in explaining why women report higher impostor feelings than men in many studies. Moreover, the results suggest that IP is characterized by the more maladaptive, socially prescribed perfectionism, which is related to the belief that others expect perfection from oneself, whereas self-oriented perfectionism, which is characterized by a critical view on oneself, plays a smaller role in differences in the IP. Finally, a strong association with the sandbagging construct challenges the conceptualization of the IP as a genuine doubt about one’s own competence, because similarly to IP, sandbaggers present themselves negatively to others, but do so for very strategic reasons in order to create a low expectation base in other individuals. Regression analysis was used to assess the incremental value of the personality factors in explaining variance in the IP. It was found that sandbagging and IP are highly related but not interchangeable.

Defining the Incidence of the Impostor Phenomenon in Academic Plastic Surgery: A Multi-Institutional Survey Study

“…However, given that the impostor phenomenon has not been defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the sensitivity and specificity of this scale have not been evaluated, and the high levels of impostor phenomenon captured herein could also be reflective of other character traits, such as perfectionism, which have been shown to be associated with the impostor phenomenon across the psychology literature. 23,[46][47][48][49] Despite these limitations, this study is the first to define the incidence and predictors of the impostor phenomenon in plastic surgery residents and faculty. Our ultimate goal for these findings is to inform future national studies assessing the effects of impostor phenomenon on burnout and career advancement in academic plastic surgery.…”

Prevalence and Predictor of Impostor Phenomenon Among Medical Students at Jouf University, Saudi Arabia

“…Our study did not find gender-specific differences in the IP, and there was no statistically significant difference between males and females suffering from the IP. A study of 209 individuals found that women report higher impostor feelings than men in many studies, possibly due to lower self-esteem and higher neuroticism [12]. A study found that male impostors react more negatively to performance cues, such as negative feedback and perceived accountability, than female impostors [13].…”

Impostor Phenomenon and L2 willingness to communicate: Testing communication anxiety and perceived L2 competence as mediators

“…Accordingly, the existence of an indirect effect is supported when the CI does not include zero ( MacKinnon et al, 2007 ). In all analyses, we controlled for gender as a covariate to account for potential gender differences as described in the literature (e.g., Badawy et al, 2018 ; Fleischhauer et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The IP relates negatively to students’ academic self-evaluations and achievement orientations (e.g., King and Cooley, 1995 ; Parkman, 2016 ; Cisco, 2020 ) and goes along with lower self-efficacy, self-esteem, growth mindset, and performance-efficacy (e.g., Cozzarelli and Major, 1990 ; Chrisman et al, 1995 ; Brauer and Wolf, 2016 ; Bravata et al, 2020 ; Fleischhauer et al, 2021 ). Further, the IP shows positive associations with students’ anxiety (i.e., generalized and test anxiety; e.g., Clance, 1985 ; Chrisman et al, 1995 ; Thompson et al, 1998 ), depressiveness, student status stress, psychological distress, and learned helplessness (e.g., Clance, 1985 ; Chrisman et al, 1995 ; Thompson et al, 1998 ; Brauer and Wolf, 2016 ; Ibrahim et al, 2022 ; see also Sakulku and Alexander, 2011 ).…”