Impostorism among the undergraduate students of Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Background Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is a highly prevalent behavioural health issue affecting individual professional performance and regular activity. The current study focused on evaluating IP prevalence and assessing the factor contributing to IP among undergraduate students of Dhaka city. This was an analytical cross-sectional survey performed among undergraduate students between August to December 2020. The Young Imposter Scale (YIS) was used to determine the dichotomous assessment for the presence or absence of IP. Results Among the recruited 1,139 students, 378 (33%) had imposter syndrome. The prevalence was relatively higher (34%) among males compared to females (32%). Around one third (31.6%) reported that they face problems in sleeping. Our analysis shows that the sleeping problem of the student (p=<0.01) and academic year (p=0.04) had a statistically significant association with IP. Students who completed two academic years were more likely to have IP (AOR:1.18; 95% CI: 1.01-1.41). There was a statistically significant difference in the experience of IP across who had a sleeping problem than those who didn’t (AOR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.25-1.90). Conclusion Our study revealed a relatively high prevalence of IP among undergraduate students, affecting their professional lives. Awareness-raising programmes should be arranged at the university level to help students to cope up with IP.

“They Overestimate Me All the Time:” Exploring Imposter Phenomenon among Indian Female Software Engineers

Imposter phenomenon is defined as a self-perception of intellectual fraudulence despite achieving objective success and accomplishments. Imposter phenomenon has been rigorously explored among high-achieving career professionals. The present qualitative study is an attempt to explore imposter phenomenon experiences among female software engineers in the Indian Information and Technology sector. The data, derived through in-depth and semi-structured interviews, has been analysed through a hybrid of an inductive and a theoretical thematic analysis method. Clance and Imes’ (1978, Psychother: Theory Res Pract, 15(3):241) article, “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” has been used for screening the sample and also, as a theoretical lens. The study reveals that external attribution of success, fear of failure, anxiety, and devaluing accomplishments are core psychological processes associated with the imposter phenomenon experience. The current work further found that parenting patterns characterized by lack of praises, comparison among siblings, lack of trust in children’s potential, and strict gender values are significant antecedents of Imposter Phenomenon.

Negative Performance Evaluation in the Imposter Phenomenon: Content, Cause, and Authenticity

The imposter phenomenon (IP) is associated with a bias towards negative evaluation of one’s own performances. In this study, we present a novel experimental paradigm to explore the relationship between IP and negative performance evaluation. First, we address the possibility that the negative evaluations associated with IP are feigned for social benefit. Second, we test the hypothesis that these evaluations are driven by biases in the search for evidence, such that those high in IP seek out more negative feedback regarding their own performance, leading to more negative judgments. Finally, we assess whether the evaluations are better explained with reference to other constructs, namely, depression and low-self-esteem.We find that participants high in IP evaluated their performances more negatively. This occurs in an anonymous online setting, with no social incentive to feigning such behaviour, contradicting suggestions that the negative self-evaluation associated with IP is feigned for social benefits. Despite evaluating their performances more negatively, participants high in IP do not exhibit a bias towards seeking out more negative feedback regarding their performance. When controlling for the effect of depression and low self-esteem, IP is only predictive of one form of negative performance evaluation: comparison to others.