Even after writing eleven books
and winning several prestigious awards, Maya Angelou couldn’t escape
the nagging doubt that she hadn’t really earned
her accomplishments. Albert Einstein experienced
something similar: he described himself
as an “involuntary swindler” whose work didn’t deserve
as much attention as it had received. Accomplishments at the level
of Angelou’s or Einstein’s are rare, but their feeling of fraudulence
is extremely common. Why can’t so many of us shake feelings that we haven’t earned
our accomplishments, or that our ideas and skills
aren’t worthy of others’ attention? Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance
was the first to study this unwarranted sense of insecurity.
In her work as a therapist, she noticed many of her undergraduate
patients shared a concern: though they had high grades, they didn’t believe they deserved
their spots at the university. Some even believed their acceptance
had been an admissions error. While Clance knew these fears
were unfounded, she could also remember feeling
the exact same way in graduate school. She and her patients experienced
something that goes by a number of names– imposter phenomenon, imposter experience, and imposter syndrome. Together with colleague Suzanne Imes, Clance first studied impostorism
in female college students and faculty. Their work established pervasive
feelings of fraudulence in this group. Since that first study, the same thing has been established
across gender, race, age, and a huge range of occupations, though it may be more prevalent
and disproportionately affect the experiences of underrepresented
or disadvantaged groups. To call it a syndrome
is to downplay how universal it is. It’s not a disease or an abnormality, and it isn’t necessarily
tied to depression, anxiety, or self-esteem.
Where do these feelings
of fraudulence come from? People who are highly skilled
or accomplished tend to think others are just as skilled. This can spiral into feeling
that they don’t deserve accolades and opportunities over other people. And as Angelou and Einstein experienced, there’s often no threshold
of accomplishment that puts these feelings to rest. Feelings of impostorism aren’t restricted
to highly skilled individuals, either. Everyone is susceptible to a phenomenon
known as pluralistic ignorance, where we each doubt ourselves privately but believe we’re alone
in thinking that way because no one else voices their doubts. Since it’s tough to really know
how hard our peers work, how difficult they find certain tasks, or how much they doubt themselves, there’s no easy way to dismiss feelings
that we’re less capable than the people around us. Intense feelings of impostorism can prevent people
from sharing their great ideas or applying for jobs
and programs where they’d excel. At least so far, the most surefire way
to combat imposter syndrome is to talk about it.
Many people suffering
from imposter syndrome are afraid that if they ask
about their performance, their fears will be confirmed. And even when
they receive positive feedback, it often fails to ease
feelings of fraudulence. But on the other hand, hearing that an advisor or mentor has
experienced feelings of impostorism can help relieve those feelings. The same goes for peers. Even simply finding out there’s a term
for these feelings can be an incredible relief. Once you’re aware of the phenomenon, you can combat your own imposter syndrome by collecting
and revisiting positive feedback. One scientist who kept blaming herself
for problems in her lab started to document the causes
every time something went wrong. Eventually, she realized most
of the problems came from equipment failure and came to recognize her own competence. We may never be able
to banish these feelings entirely, but we can have open conversations
about academic or professional challenges.
With increasing awareness
of how common these experiences are, perhaps we can feel freer, to be frank
about our feelings and build confidence
in some simple truths: you have talent, you are capable, and you belong…