Impostor syndrome
noun phrase

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome, or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".

Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved.

Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be.

While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, impostor syndrome has been recognized to affect both men and women equally.

Impostor phenomenon is not a mental disorder, yet there is research describing various management styles for this internal experience.

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TALKING POINT
practice OWAD in a conversation today:

“Apparently many highly competent and successful people suffer from self-doubt. Have you heard about the IMPOSTER SYNDROME?”

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Sources:

Langford, Joe; Clance, Pauline Rose (1993). "The imposter phenomenon: recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment". Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training.

Sakulku, J.; Alexander, J. (2011). "The Imposter Phenomenon". International Journal of Behavioral Science.

Lebowitz, Shana (2016). "Men are suffering from a psychological phenomenon that can undermine their success, but they're too ashamed to talk about it". Business Insider.