The Male vs Female Debate – Research and Recent Opinions
Surveys of several populations conducted over the years have found no gender differences in the degree to which people experience impostor feelings. Studies (Harvey, 1981, Topping, 1983, Dingman, 1987, Bussotti, 1990 and Langford, 1990,) have all failed to reveal any gender differences in impostor feelings, suggesting that males in these populations are just as likely as females to suffer from it.
So, the question that arises is why it shows up much more among women.
Evolutionary psychologists Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa and Kaja Perina, in Psychology Today, present a couple of possibilities as to why this may be so.
One possibility they suggest, is that it may be due to the definition of “success”. “In advanced industrial economies like the United States, (success) is defined purely in male terms, not in female terms”, so that women highly successful in having families, running homes, contributing to society voluntarily, etc, are just not seen as such. Heather Chaet in AdWeek, June 2012, points out the reverse situation – that fathers are often portrayed as incompetent when it comes to their children. In fact, 66 percent of fathers think there is an “anti-dad societal bias” (report by Edelman & The Parenting Group). An interesting question to ask would be whether some men’s absence from the home sphere is a manifestation of imposter syndrome in reverse?
Another possibility, they suggest, is that success usually requires a lot of hard work, including fierce competition, rejection, endurance and resilience. Women, due to evolutionary reasons, dislike aggression, rivalry and disapproval at a deeper level than men do, and so such conditions and requirements would be more difficult for them to deal with.
Dr. Valerie Young, author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, goes further to say that men may actually suffer more intensively from Imposter feelings, but because they are not socialized to express a wide range of feelings publically, may suffer more in silence than women.
Origins of Imposter Syndrome
Attribution theory could confirm why imposter syndrome shows up more with women. Researchers in the field of causal attribution, an area of cognitive psychology that studies gender differentials in attributing success, are familiar with the persistent gender difference in attribution style; considerable evidence (Deaux, 1976) has shown that women consistently have lower expectations in their ability to perform successfully than men, and so are more likely to attribute their success to external factors (task difficulty and luck), and their failure to internal factors(their ability and effort). Men, on the other hand, are more likely to attribute their success to internal factors and their failure to external factors.
Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes (1978) suggested that the seeds of imposter syndrome were sown during childhood, when one’s beliefs about one’s abilities are molded through early familial labels, messages and attitudes around expectations, particularly where families set very high standards or were overly critical. Dr. Valerie Young, in The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women says that, since one’s perceptions of one’s own abilities influences how one measures oneself, suffering imposter feelings would be an indication that an unreasonably high standard of competence is being used.
An interesting position has been taken up by senior research scientist and associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, Dr. Peggy McIntosh who suggests that imposter feelings may come up depending on the situation, rather than being a trait that manifests itself generally. She writes, “being praised for good spaghetti sauce or finding a bargain is not so unnerving as being praised for giving a speech”, and proposes that situations where feelings of incompetence arise are where a dynamic of power and authority come into play.
Challenges for Coaching
Typically, imposter syndrome does not surface as an issue for coaching until after a number of `sessions, when considerable trust has been built between the coach and coachee, as thoughts and feelings related to the subject are often a deeply guarded secret, sometimes linked with shame.
Another challenge is its self-perpetuating nature that makes the condition so difficult to overcome; the identifiable characteristic behaviors of imposter syndrome, as observed by Clance and Imes in 1978, once taken on, themselves underpin more of the same behaviors.
One such characteristic behavior is where people work really hard in order to avoid being found out that they are imposters. The resulting praise and approval for their hard work makes it appealing and encouraging to continue the hard work, however, it brings with it increased pressure of being discovered as frauds.
Another behavior is where people purposely engage in some form of intellectual inauthenticity, such as taking on superiors’ points of view in order to please them. As they align with their ideas, questions arise internally as to whether their own authentic views are valuable. By repeatedly suppressing their own opinions it prevents them from being validated. They feel safer to portray others’ views and so continue to feel like frauds.
Some imposters use charm and perceptiveness with the intention of seeking out and impressing mentors who can help develop their intellectual and creative ability. When they receive the praise they have been working for, they feel the mentor was influenced by their attributes rather than their intellect, and perpetuate the cycle by seeking another mentor for the same purpose.
In situations where society prefers women to appear modest and demure, rather than assertive and domineering, there is a reluctance to appear confident in their intellect and abilities. As long as they believe they are not bright, they can proceed with their intellectual pursuits, while satisfying stereotypical expectations of them. As societal structures and expectations around gender roles evolve, this particular behaviour may be less of an issue these days.
Coaching
Imposter syndrome can be recognized where people show feelings of frustration related to their own abilities, are unable to take genuine pride and pleasure in their achievements or are showing signs of low confidence despite their many accomplishments.
Coaching someone to manage imposter syndrome involves working to reduce the gap between how sufferers see themselves and how others see them. This requires a multi-pronged approach.
The first step for the client is to recognise what they feel and then to make the distinction that having imposter feelings does not make them imposters. Also, that any mistakes they make do not reflect on their core being.