What is impostor syndrome?
Abstract
People are described as suffering from impostor syndrome when they feel that their external markers of success are unwarranted, and fear being revealed as a fraud. Impostor syndrome is commonly framed as a troubling individual pathology, to be overcome through self-help strategies or therapy. But in many situations an individual’s impostor attitudes can be epistemically justified, even if they are factually mistaken: hostile social environments can create epistemic obstacles to self-knowledge. The concept of impostor syndrome prevalent in popular culture needs greater critical scrutiny, as does its source, the concept of impostor phenomenon which features in psychological research.
Citation
Hawley , K J 2019 , ' What is impostor syndrome? ' , Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume , vol. 93 , no. 1 , pp. 203–226 . https://doi.org/10.1093/arisup/akz003
Publication
Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume
Status
Non peer reviewed
ISSN
0309-7013Type
Journal article
Collections
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