Focusing on the Neuro-Psycho-Biological and Evolutionary Underpinnings of the Imposter Syndrome

Frontiers in Psychology

article

George P. Chrousos¹  Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis²  Efthimios Dardiotis⁴ 

[1] University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine, and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, “Aghia Sophia” Children's Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens;Public Health Laboratories, Hellenic Pasteur Institute;Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly;Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly

关键词: imposter syndrome;    nervous system;    neurobiology;    stress;    hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis;    oxytocin;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01553

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Oh Tim, I’ve just had a most ghastly weekend because I felt so unworthy (Cerejo, 2015). Surprisingas it may seem, this quote was directed by Paul Nurse to Tim Hunt shortly after they both learnedthat they received the Nobel Prize, illustrating, more or less, the so-called Imposter Phenomenon(or Imposter Syndrome). Originally described in 1978 and increasingly discussed over the last years(with over half of all publications in the area published in the last 6 years), the imposter syndromeis a psychological state, in which people express self-doubt on their accomplishments and skills,despite factual evidence or other people indicating otherwise (Bravata et al., 2020). As a corollary,syndromal imposters suffer from constant fear of being exposed as a fraud (bluff ), because theyoften believe that they have fooled their peers into overrating their abilities and professionalcompetence (Chrousos and Mentis, 2020). As part of a vicious cycle, syndromal imposters feelmore prone to failure, may become less productive, and are characterized by insecurity andprocrastination (Neureiter and Traut-Mattausch, 2016a,b; Mullangi and Jagsi, 2019). Intriguingly,recent studies suggested that imposter syndrome sufferers should be distinguished into two broadcategories: true imposters and strategic syndromal imposters, based on the degree of self-doubt(Leonhardt et al., 2017).

【 授权许可】

CC BY