TY  - JOUR
A1  - Leonhardt, Mona
A1  - Bechtoldt, Myriam
A1  - Rohrmann, Sonja
T1  - All impostors aren’t alike – differentiating the impostor phenomenon
T2  - Frontiers in psychology
N2  - Following up on earlier investigations, the present paper analyzes construct validity of the impostor phenomenon. It examines the question whether the impostor phenomenon is a homogeneous construct or whether different types of persons with impostor self-concept can be distinguished on the basis of related characteristics. The study was conducted with professionals in leadership positions exhibiting a pronounced impostor self-concept (n = 183). Cluster-analytic procedures indicated the existence of two different types: one group which, in line with the literature (e.g., Clance, 1985), possessed traits classified as fairly unfavorable (“true impostors”) and another group which can be described as largely unencumbered (“strategic impostors”). The present study suggests two types of impostorism: “True” impostors characterized by the negative self-views associated with the construct definition, and more “strategic” impostors who seem to be less encumbered by self-doubt. It is assumed that “strategic impostors” are characterized by a form of deliberate self-presentation. Therefore, the impostor self-concept cannot principally be viewed as a dysfunctional personality style. This distinction should be more carefully considered in further research and in therapeutic interventions.
KW  - impostor phenomenon
KW  - k-means clustering analysis
KW  - Ward clustering
KW  - self-concept
KW  - self-presentation
KW  - strategic behavior
KW  - authenticity
KW  - strain
Y1  - 2017
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/45078
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-450782
SN  - 1664-1078
N1  - Copyright: © 2017 Leonhardt, Bechtoldt and Rohrmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
VL  - 8
IS  - Art. 1505
SP  - 1
EP  - 10
PB  - Frontiers Research Foundation
CY  - Lausanne
ER  -