As co-PIs of an S-STEM program at West Chester University, we regularly organize workshops and conduct focus groups with approximately 25 undergraduate students, across two cohorts. Through the course of conducting two focus groups per semester, we recognized the scholars describing feelings of imposter syndrome; however, they did not appear to have a name to put to their experiences. We set out to design a workshop to define imposter syndrome, evaluate the extent to which it affects their studies, and provide strategies for countering these feelings.
Imposter syndrome, first described as “imposter phenomenon” in studies of high-achieving women by Clance and Imes (1978), is “a psychological term that refers to a pattern of behavior wherein people (even those with adequate external evidence of success) doubt their abilities and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud” (Mullangi & Jangsi, 2019, p. 403). Imposter syndrome has been found to be greater in severity and prevalence in STEM students (particularly female STEM students; Beesley, Vece, & Johnson-Ulrich, 2024), low-income students (MacInnis, Nguyen, Buliga, & Boyce, 2019), first-generation college students (Martinez, Sher, Krull, & Wood, 2009), and racial/ethnic minority students (Cokley et al., 2017). This is particularly relevant as many of our scholars self-identify as belonging to various underrepresented groups.
Recognizing Imposter Syndrome
Our focus groups allow us to gain insights into our scholars’ challenges and triumphs. We found that many scholars expressed feelings characteristic of imposter syndrome, including perfectionism, self-doubt, fear of failure, and the belief that their successes are not earned.
Due to the eligibility requirements of our S-STEM grant, all scholars were successful in high school; they were used to getting good grades. As a result, some expected that academics would go equally well in college and struggled when that wasn’t the case. One scholar described the adjustment from high school:
“I’ve, like, been putting my best foot forward in some of my classes, and they’re just getting harder, and my best foot forward is not what my best has looked like in the past, so it’s just stressful.”
If not addressed, perfectionism can lead to burnout and cause students to dwell on poor performance (Ojeda, 2024). Another scholar reported: “I have problems letting things go. Like, I can literally do the littlest thing […] I can go, okay, I’m going to let that go and do better in the next one. But at the same time, it still ruins me, like I can’t go past it.”
Feelings of self-doubt often manifested when scholars compared themselves and their efforts to their peers, particularly peers who seem to be successful with little effort. One scholar reported,
“I feel like I don’t know anything and like everybody knows everything around me… And then I even get the right results and stuff, but I still feel like I’m not as smart as everybody else.”
This quote also demonstrates the discounting of successes common for students with imposter syndrome. Students struggling with imposter syndrome may fear failure because it may reinforce their feelings of fraudulence. One scholar described this fear as, “I just feel, like, really bad… I’m so afraid of failing, or like doing bad, to approach the work.” This fear of failure can also discourage students from asking for help, even when they acknowledge they would benefit: “I, like, have a really hard time asking for help, really hard time. Yeah, really hard time feeling stupid. And if I feel stupid, I know I need to ask for help, but then I can’t ask for help, so then I’m stuck in this loop.”
Perhaps the most defining characteristic of imposter syndrome is the feeling that successes are not earned, that instead, they are the result of luck. Even when discussing their invitation to join the S-STEM program, scholars expressed surprise: “[The grant PI] reached out to me and he was like, yeah, you were recommended for [the S-STEM program]. And I was like, what? … Like, I don’t belong here… I don’t know anything I’m supposed to know.” These feelings also emerge when scholars discuss utilizing campus resources, like our Writing Center or tutors. “And I’m like, oh, I don’t really deserve this grade because I have a tutor” and “It almost feels like guilt. At least like, I’m not used to having, like, all these resources. Like a writing grade, like almost feels biased.”
Normalizing and Combating Imposter Syndrome
In recognition of the struggles we saw the scholars experiencing with feelings of imposter syndrome, we held an hour-long workshop on the topic. We began the workshop by asking scholars to pair up and allowed time for each member of the pair to discuss what they saw as their best personal qualities, strengths, skills, and accomplishments for two minutes without stopping. While this is a difficult exercise, these scholars have a lot to be proud of, whether they are accustomed to discussing it or not. We then defined imposter syndrome and showed a short TED-Ed video on the topic, “What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it?” (2018). After watching the video, scholars completed the Clance Imposter Syndrome Scale (Clance, 1985) to assess the extent to which imposter syndrome affects their lives. To normalize the prevalence of the experience and build community, we as faculty members shared our scores on the scale and discussed times in which imposter syndrome affected us. We closed the workshop by asking scholars to share times in which others came to them for help or advice, to validate the scholars’ expertise and experience to others.
The workshop also encouraged scholars to reevaluate how they conceptualized failures – from an indication of their inadequacy (reinforcing feelings of being an imposter) to an opportunity to learn and grow. When asked in a survey what changes they would make based on the workshop, one scholar reported,
“After today’s workshop, I will try to use my failures as learning experiences to improve.”
Even after the workshop, scholars in the focus groups seemed to have a different attitude toward setbacks and poor academic performance. For example, one scholar provided the following insight,
“I am in transition for who I am and how comfortable I am with failure…I understand now that my grades and accomplishments have a less direct correlation to my future success so I don’t feel like I have failed myself or my identity if I happen to fail an exam today…”
In our favorite focus group quote, another scholar ended a story of how they responded to poor performance on an exam with
“…this is not a loss. This is another lesson.”
Supporting Your Students/Scholars
In our experience, although many students experience feelings of imposter syndrome, few if any can put a name to the construct. We feel that being able to name imposter syndrome for what it is normalizes their concerns and allows students to create a community of shared experience centered around what could otherwise be a very isolating feeling. We also suggest mentors share their own experiences with imposter syndrome, demonstrating the prevalence of the feeling, but also showing that self-judgments are not always accurate, and successful members of their chosen field still experience imposter syndrome.
References
Beesley, B.A., Vece, N.G., & Johnson-Ulrich, Z. (2024). Undergraduate imposter syndrome rates between gender and field of study. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 29(2), 86-93. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN29.2.86
Clance, P.R., & Imes, S.A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 15(3), 241-247.
Clance, P.R., (1985). The imposter phenomenon: When success makes you feel like a fake. Bantam Books.
Cokley, K., Smith, L., & Bernard, D., Hurst, A., Jackson, S., Stone, S., Awosogba, O., Saucer, C., Bailey, M., & Roberts, D. (2017). Imposter feelings as a moderator and mediator of the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health among racial/ethnic minority college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(2), 141-154.
MacInnis, C.C., Nguyen, P., Buliga, E., & Boyce, M.A. (2019). Cross-socioeconomic class friendships can exacerbate imposturous feelings among lower-SES students. Journal of College Student Development, 60(5), 595-611. 10.1353/csd.2019.0056
Martinez, J. A., Sher, K. J., Krull, J. L., & Wood, P. K. (2009). Blue-collar scholars?: Mediators and moderators of university attrition in first-generation college students. Journal of College Student Development, 50, 87-103.
Mullangi, S., & Jangsi, R. (2019). Imposter syndrome: Treat the cause, not the symptom. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 322(5), 403-404.
Ojeda, L. (2024). Impostor phenomenon and burnout. In K. Cokley (Ed.), The impostor phenomenon: Psychological research, theory, and interventions (pp. 81–109). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000397-005
TED-Ed. (2018, August 28). What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQUxL4Jm1Lo
