Imposter Phenomenon

Imposter Phenomenon

Aliana, Xian & Hope

Multiple Choice

Based only on the name, what do you think that imposter phenomenon means?

• Aspiring to be like another athlete/performer, to the extent of hating your own achievement.

• The paranoid fear of spies within a team or sporting organisation.

• The belief that you did not earn your achievements, and have a lack of self-worth.

• Loss of identity due to time spent in the public eye.

Interesting!

Imposter phenomenon (or imposter syndrome, imposter fears, or imposterism) is:

The persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.

Multiple Choice

Who do you think can struggle with imposter syndrome?

• Only athletes.

• Anyone in the public eye.

• Everybody in positions of power or importance.

• Anybody.

Anyone can experience imposter syndrome!

And it impacts men and women in roughly equal numbers, but is said to impact young adults more than any other age group.

As we are focusing on sports psychology, we will be looking at the problem of imposter syndrome in athletes, which usually manifests as a belief that they did not earn their sporting achievement.

Why would people experience imposter syndrome?

• Fear of failure

• Self-sabotage

• Fear of exposure/isolation

• Fear of rejection

• Discounting praise

• Perfectionism

• Overworking

The Diagnosis

Despite the fact that imposter syndrome is not a diagnosable condition, it is estimated to negatively effect more than 70% of people. That means that 70% of athletes are plagued by questions like, "why am I not good enough?" which can serverly hurt their sports performance.

Quiz Time!

Multiple Choice

Which one is not an effect of imposter phenomenon?

• Jealousy of the achievements of others.

• Fear of the opinions of others.

• Sense of self-doubt.

• Fear of failure.

Multiple Choice

Which age group is most effected?

• Seniors

• Young adults

• Teenagers

• 30-40 year olds

Multiple Choice

True or false: Women are affected by imposter syndrome more than men.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What have you learnt about imposter syndrome/phenomenon?