What is (and isn't) the scientific literature on "impostor syndrome”?

Symptoms of a society overrun with 'bad therapy'.

Credit: Sora

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I have become increasingly curious as to why I hear so many people nowadays use the term “impostor syndrome”, sometimes invoking it as if they’d been diagnosed with a debilitating illness and other times sounding as if it’s a badge of honor, and I feel compelled to offer some context and perspective on the topic. 

For starters, psychologists Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes originally used the term “Impostor Phenomenon” in their 1978 paper and never called it a “syndrome”. Not once. The shift in nomenclature seems to have happened over time, likely due to a combination of media influence, popular psychology, and the way language evolves in public discourse (not always for the better). Hey, I get it, “syndrome” makes for catchy and dramatic jargon, and sounds more scientific in fashion magazines and self-help books. And when high-profile figures like Michelle, Meghan and Sheryl use it to explain their struggles, they make it seem more legit.

But let’s be clear: What Clance and Imes described as impostor phenomenon is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) nor the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), meaning it is not officially recognized as a clinical disorder or syndrome. It is more of a descriptive construct, intended to capture a shared human experience of perceived inadequacy rather than to identify a medical condition, however significant the effects on someone’s psychological well-being and work performance may actually be. Moreover, it is not a strictly internal or dispositional issue but rather a reaction to external pressures, as we will see next.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

The original study - published close to five decades ago - focused on high-achieving women who attributed their success to factors unrelated to competence nor intelligence, such as luck. The subjects expressed beliefs about being undeserving of their accomplishments and feared being exposed as intellectual frauds. Clance and Imes identified feelings of persistent self-doubt, even among the most successful individuals (including many PhD earners), possibly as a result of societal expectations, family dynamics, and early life experiences. 

In other words, the phenomenon is characterized by a recurring and recognizable pattern of thoughts and emotions, and it is most notable for the individual’s inability to internalize success despite experiencing various forms of external validation (e.g. awards, promotions, praise, etc.). Failures, on the other hand, are internalized and attributed to personal flaws or lack of competence, further deepening the person’s sense of inadequacy or “otherness”. One could summarize it as a state of hyper self-consciousness.

Among the common giveaways are strong perfectionistic tendencies, a distorted self-assessment of cognitive and/or physical abilities, and the habit to over-prepare or procrastinate, all of which serve to compensate for perceived inadequacies, and can ultimately lead to stress, depression, burnout, and isolation. As a result, a person’s drive to take on new opportunities and challenges might be hampered. Or she might become a workaholic. The intensity of the experience is by no means uniform and fluctuates from one individual to another; some may feel mild discomfort while others may experience severe anxiety. 

George has it all ... ! (Seinfeld S4 E15)

While initially identified in women, this phenomenon also affects men, as well as individuals from various demographic groups (age, ethnicity, cultural background, etc.). From a neurological perspective, it has been suggested that the experience can be exacerbated by overactivity in the amygdala (the area in our brain responsible for initiating the fight-flight-or-freeze response when it perceives a threat, whether it is real or not) and reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (crucial for self-regulation). Sociocultural factors may also play a role, such as being part of a minority group or from another country. But the most important observation is that this phenomenon has high prevalence rates in academia, medicine, sports, corporate settings and creative fields - where competition is intense and everyone is hyper-vigilant about how they measure up against others. Wink wink, LinkedIn! 

What can be done about it?

The first thing to do is to stop calling it a syndrome, and recognize the impostor phenomenon as a maladaptive thinking pattern, whereby individuals hold inaccurate or irrational beliefs about their own competence, often in high-stakes environments. In fact, Clance and Imes emphasized the importance of helping individuals understand the roots of their insecurities and reframe their thinking. Calling it a “syndrome” not only creates an illusion of clinical legitimacy around the experience but can validate their cognitive distortions, which is unhelpful and counterproductive. 

I am not trying to minimize the issue, which can be quite stressful for some people. On the contrary, it is usually a good idea to examine feelings and beliefs that are getting in the way of our sense of satisfaction and success. What I am attempting to do here is to simply point out the importance of properly assessing the problem in order to properly address it. As Yogi Berra famously said, “if you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else”. 

Looking at the bigger picture, I have noticed a growing societal trend in recent years to equate struggle or suffering to a marker of self-identity (which creates emotional attachment), while mental health experts seem obsessed with over-pathologizing and over-medicalizing everything - which is not exactly a recipe for happiness. Needless to say, this is obviously a much broader topic and I won’t get into it right now but, for anyone who is interested, Abigail Shrier explores some of this in her book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up. It’s worth a read. 

To end on a hopeful note, I would like to suggest a few simple (and inexpensive) remedies that many of my clients have found useful in mitigating the effects of self-doubt. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but something to get you started. 

1. Information Fasting - This is a term Yuval N. Harari likes to use, and he is a master practitioner of it. But for those of us who can’t go on 30-day silence retreats, there are other ways. For example, try taking a 30 minute walk at least 3 times per week without looking at the phone nor listening to podcasts or music, but simply paying attention to your surroundings and your own ruminations. If you’re walking your dog, he/she will appreciate it, by the way. If you must have your phone with you for safety reasons, that’s ok, just set it to airplane mode and store it in your back pocket. You can get creative and practice a similar routine in a variety of scenarios - while cooking, journaling, picking up groceries, playing with your kids, drinking your morning coffee, etc. Why is information fasting important? Because it’s a way to reduce or pause all the outside noise (mainly social media) and allow you to connect with and process the present moment for what it is.

2. Come back to your body - Yes, down from the psychological and digital cloud, and back into your own body. Whenever thoughts of self-doubt or inadequacy start creeping in, bring your attention to your physical self. Take a few deep breaths, locate the source of your anxiety - is it in your legs, your stomach, your chest or somewhere else? Breathe into it. Place both feet flat on the ground, make contact with planet earth, imagine yourself growing roots. This does not guarantee that the thoughts will go away entirely but it will help you feel less attached to and less identified with them. Importantly, notice if you begin telling yourself “I’m not doing this right” or “I’m really bad at this”, and instead try asking yourself “does this serve me well right now?” or “can I stay with my body just a little bit longer?”. A wonderful resource I would recommend here is Christine Caldwell’s work on Bodyfulness. 

3. Fake it till you make it - Most people tend to shun this advice at first because it runs counter to the “authenticity” narrative. Here is where power posing - as popularized by Amy Cuddy - comes in handy. The gist of it is that you act first, and self-confidence will follow. Imagine your body craves broccoli for its essential nutrients but your taste buds don’t enjoy it. Then, after working up to it for a while, broccoli becomes much easier - even pleasant - to chew and swallow. This analogy serves to illustrate that we sometimes embark on certain projects that make us feel as if we’re completely out of our depth and we observe others who are much more proficient at performing the same task. Maybe this is an invitation to persevere through discomfort until the task becomes second nature.

4. Do something you suck at - Even masters get it wrong sometimes, so why is it so hard to accept failure? Well, it is almost impossible to handle failure gracefully if we never practice failing. So engage with an activity in which you are a complete novice or for which you truly don’t have much talent. Allow yourself to repeatedly fail and feel foolish while doing so. The point is to try to enjoy the activity without making much of an effort to get better at it. As Karen Rinaldi suggested, this can act as a cure to our “aspirational psychosis”.

5. Pay it forward - Conversely, pick something you are really good at and find opportunities to pass your knowledge and skill on to someone else. Perhaps you write an article or book, or you teach a class, or perform a show & tell, or post it on TikTok. Whether you excel at baking cookies, riding a bike, singing karaoke, or producing short films, share it with the world. It doesn’t have to be an activity you get paid for, just something you have learned well and that others might learn from you (and no, you don’t need to be a black belt). The main value in doing this, besides enriching someone else’s life, is that it will force your brain to switch from scarcity to abundance mode, whereby you put yourself in a position to transmit whatever amount of wisdom you possess, instead of dwelling on what’s still missing.

Conclusion

In summary, the term “syndrome” can distort our understanding of what was originally defined as “impostor phenomenon”, which is essentially a common, even if distressing, psychological experience tied to cultural, social, and environmental factors. A more grounded and nuanced approach to the topic can help us uncover strategies and practices to not just cope with, but use it as a doorway for professional growth and personal development.