Chapter 8: Am I Doing It Right?: College Women Leaders and Their Experiences With Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a term used to describe “a specific form of self-doubt where people fear being found out as less than worthy, or a fraud” (Owen, 2020, p. 194). Georgia State University psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Ament Imes are credited with studying what was first called “imposter phenomenon” in 1978 in a study about high-achieving women (Clance & Imes, 1978; Owen, 2020; Tulshyan & Burey, 2021). Their study included over 100 women ranging from undergraduate women, graduate students, medical students, women faculty with PhDs, and professional women from a variety of sectors. Despite their achievements, honors, degrees, and professional recognitions, these women did not feel an internal sense of success and instead described themselves as imposters. Clance and Imes (1978) elaborate, “Women who experience the impostor phenomenon maintain a strong belief that they are not intelligent; in fact, they are convinced that they have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise” (p. 241). This foundational study provided insights into the potential origins (e.g., familial dynamics) and persistence of imposter syndrome along with therapeutic interventions that could be used to disrupt these thought patterns (Clance & Imes, 1978).