Le phénomène de l’imposteur, la peur qui mine la réussite

Abstract

Découvert et identifié en 1985 par Clance [1] , le phénomène de l’imposteur concerne des personnes qui, en dépit de signes évidents et objectifs de réussites, ne parviennent à s’estimer responsables de leur succès ou mériter leur récompense. Facteurs étiologiques multiples, caractéristiques précises, conséquences variables sur le bien-être et le psychisme des individus, le phénomène de l’imposteur a fait l’objet de nombreuses études dans différents pays. Cet article a pour visée d’établir un inventaire des diverses données qui ont pu être mises en évidence au sujet de ses origines conceptuelles, de ses définitions, des causes et antécédents du phénomène, de la description des critères, des conséquences psychologiques et des traitements psychothérapeutiques envisagés atour du phénomène de l’imposteur. Seventy percent of people believe at some point in their career that they do not deserve their success. Discovered and identified in 1985 by Clance [1] , the impostor phenomenon (IP) affects people who, through lack of clear and objective signs of success, are unable to take responsibility for their success. The impostor phenomenon, which has multiple etiological factors, specific characteristics and variable consequences on the well-being and psyche of individuals, has been the object of numerous studies in different countries. The aim of this article is to establish an inventory of identified data regarding the conceptual origins, definitions, causes and antecedents of the phenomenon, as well as a description of criteria, psychological consequences and possible psychotherapeutic treatment of the impostor phenomenon. The IP is defined by several specific notions: feeling of inauthenticity (thoughts, sentiments and actions judged to be fraudulent), fear of being exposed or seen as incompetent, inability to internalize own success, and self-deprecation (high level of self-criticism, high standards of personal success and evaluation). People suffering from IP have real abilities in spite of their beliefs to the contrary, but are not able to attribute success to their own merits, to the point of relativizing it to occurring by luck or by chance, and not through intelligence or competence. They demonstrate low expectations with regard to future success, think that their abilities have been overestimated by others and live in the fear of being exposed as a fraud. The origins of IP can be found in different factors including the nature of parental messages (focused on intelligence, success, competitive values, the need to please, the desire for approval), the developmental environment and family dynamics (lack of support, expressivity or attention, strong degree of control, conflict or overprotection) as well as personality traits (neurotic, anxious or perfectionist). The IP is marked by six characteristics: the impostor cycle, the need to be the best, success in all aspects of life, fear of failure, denial of abilities and fear of success. Not everyone who suffers from IP necessarily manifests the six characteristics but a minimum of two criteria must be present. People suffering from IP have a strong need to appear competent in many fields to avoid being found out, whilst having a particular relationship based on doubt, anxiety and worry with regard to current tasks, their fulfilment and the possibilities for success but also failure. IP can be associated with a wide psychopathological spectrum, with a real impact on psychological well-being (burnout, stress, anxiety, depression, psychological distress, suicidal risk). But the presence of a specific comorbidity or epidemiological risk has not yet been established. The tendency of IP subjects to overestimate the frequency of their errors causes them to have a low level of satisfaction in their performance and low self-confidence. They have low self-esteem and a deep feeling of inferiority. A certain number of maladaptive thoughts, which seem to be part of IP are also noted. In addition to the tendency to poorly estimate their competencies and abilities, the individual affected by IP also seems to exhibit dichotomous thinking which forces them to see their abilities as insufficient matched by a desire to be “the best” in all fields. Nevertheless, studies describing the therapeutic processes dealing with IP are rare. Fear of success, fear of failure, perfectionism, the need to be the best and generalization are all negative dysfunctional cognitions, which require in-depth and varied work. The challenges in the treatment of IP are centred on the possibility of the subject to come out of solitude (group therapy), the identification of dysfunctional attitudes (cognitive dissonance, superstitious rituals, self-disabling strategies), the construction of a better process of internalization (reconstitution and correction of relational experiences, weekly attribution tasks), the restitution of a realistic self-image (struggle against the false self, empathetic listening, non-judgement, authenticity) and the decrease of dependency by the subject on positive evaluation (representation of performance and intelligent, irrational beliefs, unconditional self-acceptance).