Contextualizing the Impostor “Syndrome”

The impostor "syndrome" refers to the notion that some individuals feel as if they ended up in esteemed roles and positions not because of their competencies, but because of some oversight or stroke of luck. Such individuals therefore feel like frauds or "impostors." Despite the...

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Veröffentlicht in:Frontiers in psychology Jg. 11; S. 575024
Hauptverfasser: Feenstra, Sanne, Begeny, Christopher T., Ryan, Michelle K., Rink, Floor A., Stoker, Janka I., Jordan, Jennifer
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 13.11.2020
Schlagworte:
impostor phenomenon
impostor syndrome
institutional underrepresentation
Psychology
social context
stereotypes
unequal treatment
unequal treatment
impostor syndrome
stereotypes
impostor phenomenon
social context
institutional underrepresentation
ISSN:1664-1078, 1664-1078
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Zusammenfassung:The impostor "syndrome" refers to the notion that some individuals feel as if they ended up in esteemed roles and positions not because of their competencies, but because of some oversight or stroke of luck. Such individuals therefore feel like frauds or "impostors." Despite the fact that impostor feelings are often linked to marginalized groups in society, to date, research predominantly approaches this phenomenon as an issue of the individual: pointing toward individuals for the roots and solutions of the "syndrome." Drawing from a rich body of social and organizational psychology research, in this perspectives piece, we propose a shift in how scholars conceptualize and empirically examine this phenomenon. Instead of framing the insecurities of individuals belonging to marginalized groups solely as a problem that arises these individuals, we argue that it is critical for future research to consider the important role of the environment in eliciting their impostor feelings as well. By doing so, we can address the contextual roots of individuals' impostor feelings, and offer more structural and effective solutions.
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Edited by: Martin Reuter, University of Bonn, Germany
Reviewed by: Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis, Johns Hopkins University, United States; Daniela Mier, University of Konstanz, Germany
This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
ISSN:1664-1078
1664-1078
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575024