Do you often worry that someday, everyone will discover you aren't as competent as you seem?

Good news—you’re not alone.

Most likely, you’re a high-achieving human.

You probably know this experience of perpetual doubt and fear of exposure as Imposter Syndrome (IP). However, that’s a misnomer because IP is not a medical syndrome or clinical condition but a universal phenomenon. 

To prove just how universal this phenomenon is, studies in 2011 revealed that 70% of the general public felt like impostors. By 2020, that figure had risen to 82%, indicating that nearly the entire population had felt unshakable inadequacy. 

Imposter Phenomenon emerged from the research of two psychologists, Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. In the fall of 1978, their article, The Imposter Phenomenon in High-Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention, was published in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice.

They recognized IP as a destructive pattern of discounting hard-earned achievements and attributing them to luck or charm rather than ability. The IP mindset breeds anxiety about being "exposed" as incompetent, spurring unrealistic standards and an intense work ethic, almost as if trying to stave off inevitable failure.

At the end of his life, Albert Einstein confided in a letter to his friend, the philosopher and mathematician, Maurice Solovine, that he felt like a fraud: "The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler." 

Yes, fellow involuntary swindlers, Albert Einstein also experienced IP.

Imposter Phenomenon often befalls high achievers who, unable to internalize success, underestimate their accomplishments. This repetitive and long-lasting cycle leads to diminished self-esteem, heightened fear of failure, and the constant thrum of terror of imminent exposure.

Innes and Clance found, as Einstein had, that repeated success over time does not break the cycle or deliver peace.

That’s right: Success is not the cure.

The two psychologists, who bonded over their shared feelings of fraudulence, spent five years talking to over 150 white, upper-middle-class women aged 20-45, who were, by most metrics, successful.

Within this contained sample, they traced the imposter phenomenon's roots to two specific childhood scenarios arranged around the dynamics in their families of origin. 

Scenario One

In the first scenario, their “imposter” grew up with a sibling deemed as the “smart” one.

Relegated as the socially adept sibling who was charming and personable, they absorbed the message that, despite being equal academically to their “smart” sibling, they couldn’t get rewarded for being anything other than charming. 

They would find themselves going to great lengths to disprove the family myth, to no avail. Despite the evidence of equal brightness, their parents perpetually discounted them, leading them to question their intelligence. They began to ascribe their success to their charm. They excelled, not because they were intelligent, but because they charmed their teachers into giving them good grades. So begins the imposter phenomenon.

Scenario Two

In the second scenario, the impostor grew up being the “smart” one in the family. This child, a girl in this case, is rewarded for her superiority. She’s prettier, more intelligent, and more talented than others, the family myth goes. 

Her parents’ praise is predicated on the idea that everything comes easily to her. She internalizes her parents’ definition of success, equating brilliance with ease.

Yet, the child begins to recognize that not everything comes easily to her; she starts questioning her parents’ perception of her and begins to feel like an intellectual impostor.

Despite their awareness that they can't pretend perfection forever, they still feel pressure to fulfill others' extremely high expectations.

Why is IP so challenging to overcome? The psychologists identified four maintenance behaviors that perpetuated their fraudulent mindset.