6 Signs You Might Have Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome, or “impostor phenomenon,” is a term that was first used in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes to describe why many high-achieving people felt like impostors in their respective fields. Do you often feel like a fraud or an imposter? Learning about impostor syndrome can help put a name to feelings of phoniness and give people struggling with it reassurance that they are not the only ones experiencing these feelings. So, here are a few signs you might be experiencing imposter syndrome.

If you resonated with this video need more reassurance, we also have a video on the things to remember if you think you're not good enough: https://youtu.be/ZguFzyI-CCQ

Writer: Carley Swanson-Garro
Script Editor: Isadora Ho
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animation: Andrew Allan
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

Reference
Clance, P. R., Imes, S. A. (Fall 1978). The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice. 15 (3): 241–247. http://mpowir.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Download-IP-in-High-Achieving-Women.pdf.

Langford, J., Clance, P. R. (Fall 1993). The impostor phenomenon: recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training. 30(3): 495–501. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.30.3.495.

McAllum, K. (2016). Managing imposter syndrome among the “Trophy Kids”: creating teaching practices that develop independence in millennial students. Communication Education, 65(3), 363–365. Doi: 10.1080/03634523.2016.1177848.

Richards, C. (October 26, 2015). Learning to deal with the impostor syndrome. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020 from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/your-money/learning-to-deal-with-the-impostor-syndrome.html.

Sakulku, J., Alexander, J. (2011). The impostor phenomenon. International Journal of Behavioral Science. 6: 73–92. doi:10.14456/ijbs.2011.6.

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