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

Monika Fleischhauer,Lars Michael,Sören Enge,Josephine Wossidlo

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.764030

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.

Highlights

Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
The results suggest that impostor phenomenon (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
As indicated by a significant t test, t(207) = −3.44, p = 0.001, Hedge’s g = −0.58, female participants (M = 57.15, standard deviation (SD) = 14.44) reported higher impostor feelings than males (M = 48.68, SD = 14.68)

Summary

Introduction

Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Instead of attributing academic or work-related success to own abilities, people with impostor feelings tend to see external or effort-related factors such as fortunate circumstances, knowing the right people or hard work as the original cause of their success (e.g., Clance and OToole, 1987). They are convinced not to deserve their achievements and cannot really accept the appreciation and respect from others. As lower self-esteem is deemed to be a core correlate of the IP (e.g., Chrisman et al, 1995; Schubert and Bowker, 2019), it could modulate gender-specific differences in the IP

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