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Imposter Syndrome Naomi Catanus ‘Impostor syndrome’, less commonly referred to as ‘impostor phenomenon’, is a term dating back to the late 1970s that refers to the feelings of self-doubt and incompetence that an individual has in a certain role or position. Despite their success, individuals with impostor syndrome “often attribute their accomplishments to luck rather than to ability, and fear that others will eventually unmask them as a fraud” (Weir, 2013, as cited in Ralston, 2019, p. 191). While not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the main resource used to diagnose and treat mental disorders in America), impostor syndrome is also heavily linked to perfectionism and is acknowledged by psychologists to be a real condition often accompanied by anxiety and depression (Ralston, 191-192). Studies on impostor syndrome have historically been examined only at the individual level of analysis by scholars, even though the phenomenon is “often linked to women and members of ethnic minority groups” (Feenstra et al., 2020). Unfortunately, this means that individuals with impostor syndrome are usually blamed for having a problem and are made solely responsible for fixing it. However, impostor syndrome instead often results from the uncertainty that accompanies negative stereotypes, gendered roles, and underrepresentation within certain institutions. The use of the term ‘impostor syndrome’ has increased dramatically over the last decade. It has become the subject of more academic research and a topic discussed more by influencers and celebrities on social media. As a result, the term is commonly abused as a blanket term for general self-doubt or stress. However, attributing all feelings of stress and unbelonging to impostor syndrome can be dangerous to individuals that are, in reality, overworked or unsatisfied with the role they are in. Doing so pushes them to believe that they are simply not good enough
