“I DON’T DESERVE THIS!”Kera Murphy, M.Ed. & Kristin Dringoli, M.S.

Academic Advisors, Berklee College of Music

DEFEATING IMPOSTER SYNDROME IN HIGH-ACHIEVING STUDENTS

BERKLEE FACTS AND FIGURES: 2016-2017 ACADEMIC YEAR

FALL 2010 COHORT 6-YEAR GRADUATION RATE: 60%

““I’m not as good as my classmates.”

““I’m the only person in class that doesn’t get it.”

POP QUIZ!Answer the following questions yes or no.

1. Do you secretly worry that you are less bright and capable as others believe you to be?

2. Do you sometimes shy away from challenges due to self-doubt?

3. Do you tend to attribute your accomplishments to being a fluke, or just luck?

4. Do you hate making mistakes, being less than 100% prepared, or not doing things perfectly?

5. Do you tend to feel crushed even by constructive criticism, feeling inept or incapable?

6. When you succeed, do you feel as if you“fooled” others into believing your worthiness?

7. Do you believe that your peers are smarter or more capable than you?

8. Do you live in fear of being “unmasked” or considered a fraud?

IMPOSTER PHENOMENON

BACKGROUND OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME

➤ The term “imposter phenomenon,” also referred to as imposter syndrome, was coined by Clance and Imes (1978) to identify an internal feeling or experience of intellectual fraudulence that they observed to be especially present in their study of high-achieving women. (Hoang, 2013)

➤ The common tendencies they observed in their study included:

➤ Difficulty accepting praise or positive feedback for accomplishments

➤ Focus on negative feedback

➤ Fear that failure will lead to shame and humiliation

➤ Comparison of individual weaknesses to others’ strengths (2013)

BUILDING ON THE WORK OF CLANCE AND IMES (1978)

➤ Since their initial study in 1978, researchers have built on the foundation set by Clance and Imes by investigating the presence of imposter syndrome in various populations across a range of environments.

➤ One of the most popular environments studied has been higher education institutions. These studies have grown in richness and complexity over the years, moving from the basic focus areas of gender and achievement to more nuanced aspects of student identity.

WHAT DOES IMPOSTER SYNDROME FEEL LIKE?

➤ Feeling as if one does not belong, or feeling like a fraud, despite demonstrating talents and successes.

➤ Believing that achievements are due to luck, rather than hard work or ability.

➤ Feeling as though having a positive self-worth is contingent upon having more achievements.

http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2013/11/fraud.aspx

ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY

ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY

➤ Achievement goal theory examines the effects of qualitatively different goals people adopt in achievement situations (Kumar & Jagacinski, 2006).

➤ Individuals focus on either demonstrating competence, or avoiding a demonstration of incompetence

➤ Centered on one’s own definition of “competence”

➤ Self-referent view will see success of task completion as an end in itself

➤ Task goals (also task-involving or learning goals) focus on learning, completing, and understanding a task.

➤ Competitive view will see success as outperforming others in said task

➤ Ability-approach goals (also performance or ego-involving goals) focus on outperforming others in a task.

GOAL & INTELLIGENCE THEORY

➤ The type of goal theory individuals tend to practice is likely tied to their intrinsic intelligence theory.

➤ Incremental theorists believe that intelligence is malleable and ever-evolving.

➤ Entity theorists believe that intelligence is fixed.

➤ There appears to be a high correlation between those who set ability-approach goals, having an entity theorist viewpoint of intelligence, and experiencing imposter syndrome (Kumar & Jagacinski, 2006).

LIMITATIONS

INTERSECTIONALITY & IMPOSTER SYNDROME

➤ Originally coined by Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), intersectionality theory explored Black feminism through the lived experiences of those individuals who identify as being black, as well as being women.

➤ Students who identify with multiple underrepresented or marginalized identities may be more inclined to demonstrate signs of imposter phenomenon than other students.

➤ These identities may include race, gender identity, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, ability, and religion, among others.

➤ Some studies have examined imposter phenomenon in individuals on a male/female binary, but the data do not demonstrate significant difference in gender experience (King & Cooley, 1995; Fried-Buchalter, 1997; Topping & Kimmel, 1985).

IMPACT ON STUDENTS

IMPACT ON STUDENTS

➤ If students have a more fixed, as opposed to growth, mindset, they may be more apt to practice an entity theory approach to intelligence, and set ability-approach goals.

➤ Negative performance on assignments, tests, and other academic pursuits may imply to these students that they are a “failure,” and they simply cannot succeed in that area.

➤ This may lead to a disruption in a sense of belonging, sense of community, and feeling as if one does not deserve to study at the institution.

➤ Questioning one’s intrinsic abilities, as opposed to seeing obstacles as opportunities for growth.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME HOLDS US BACKSome people with imposter syndrome avoid:

➤ applying for jobs

➤ asking for promotions

➤ attempting new personal or career-related opportunities

GUESS WHAT?

It’s also completely baseless.

MORE THAN 70% OF PEOPLE HAVE FELT LIKE

IMPOSTERS IN THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS

(Neureiter & Traut-Mattausch, 2016)

“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.

-Maya Angelou

“Sometimes I wake up in the morning before going off to a shoot, and I think, I can’t do this. I’m a fraud.

-Kate Winslet

“There are an awful lot of people out there who think I’m an expert. How do these people believe all this about me? I’m so much aware of all the things I don’t know.

-Dr. Margaret Chan, Former WHO Director-General

VALUES ASSESSMENT

EXERCISE ONE

➤ Write down five things you find yourself struggling with. This could be career-related, personal, academic, or anything else you feel is relevant to this exercise.

➤ Now, write down five things or actions that make you feel positive (or: happy, confident, proud, satisfied, etc.).

EXERCISE TWOAccountability Achievement Activism Adventure Ambition Autonomy Community Compassion Confidence Control Cooperation Courage Creativity Decisiveness Economic security Effectiveness Efficiency Enthusiasm Environmentalism Faith Family Foresight

Free time Friendships Growth Happiness Health Honesty Independence Inner harmony Insight Integrity Introspection Justice Knowledge Leadership Loyalty Mentorship Merit Music Nature Openness Order Persistance

Personal development Power Privacy Quality Recognition Reputation Responsibility Romance Security Self-reliance Self-respect Serenity Spirituality Stability Status Tenacity Tranquility Truth Volunteering Wealth Wisdom

EXERCISE TWO (CONT.)

Pick one of the values you chose, and write a couple of sentences about why that particular value is important to you.

EXERCISE THREE

You just explained why that value is so important to you. Now think about your day-to-day life. Do you tend to practice that value regularly and live up to that value? Choose one:

➤ Disagree

➤ Somewhat Disagree

➤ Neutral

➤ Somewhat Agree

➤ Agree

What I know

What I think

others know

What I

know

What

others

know

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

1

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.2

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.3

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.

Acknowledge your faults.4

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.

Acknowledge your faults.

Look at worst-case scenarios.5

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.

Acknowledge your faults.

Look at worst-case scenarios.

Turn problems into motivation.6

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.

Acknowledge your faults.

Look at worst-case scenarios.

Turn problems into motivation.

Focus on the value you provide.

7

FIGHTING THE IMPOSTER

Look at who and what you’re comparing yourself to.

Talk to people.

Collect compliments.

Acknowledge your faults.

Look at worst-case scenarios.

Turn problems into motivation.

Focus on the value you provide.

Ask for help.

8

QUESTIONS?

Kera Murphy, Academic Advisor

kmurphy2@berklee.edu

Kristin Dringoli, Academic Advisor

kdringoli@berklee.edu

mailto:kmurphy2@berklee.edumailto:kdringoli@berklee.edu

REFERENCESClance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241.

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. U. Chi. Legal F., 139.

Fried-Buchalter, S. (1997). Fear of success, fear of failure, and the imposter phenomenon among male and female marketing managers. Sex Roles, 37, 847–859.

Hoang, Q. (2013). The imposter phenomenon: Overcoming internalized barriers and recognizing achievements. The Vermont Connection, 34(6), 42-51.

King, J. E., & Cooley, E. L. (1995). Achievement orientation and the imposter phenomenon among college students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20, 304–312.

Kumar, S., & Jagacinski, C. M. (2006). Imposters have goals too: The imposter phenomenon and its relationship to achievement goal theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(1), 147-157.

Neureiter, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2016). Inspecting the dangers of feeling like a fake: an empirical investigation of the impostor phenomenon in the world of work. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1445.

Topping, M. E. H., & Kimmel, E. B. (1985). The imposter phenomenon: Feeling phony. Academic Psychology Bulletin, 7, 213–227.

https://thehustle.co/why-70-percent-of-millennials-have-impostor-syndrome

https://thehustle.co/why-70-percent-of-millennials-have-impostor-syndrome