Impostor syndrome, the phenomenon where high-achieving individuals feel undeserving of their success, has long been a topic of interest in psychology. A recent meta-analysis published in Current Research in Behavioral Sciences sheds light on gender differences in impostor syndrome. By combining data from over 100 studies, the researchers found a clear trend: women consistently score higher on measures of impostor syndrome.
The concept of impostor syndrome, initially termed “impostor phenomenon” by psychologists Clance and Imes in 1978, describes the feelings of fraudulence experienced by highly successful people. These individuals often attribute their achievements to luck or external factors rather than their abilities.
Clance and Imes originally suggested that women are more likely to experience this phenomenon due to societal stereotypes about gender and intelligence. However, subsequent research has produced mixed results, with some studies finding significant gender differences and others finding none.
“The topic of impostor phenomenon (also called impostor syndrome) was suggested by my co-author Brandi Holcomb. Brandi was an undergraduate psychology student in my lab at Fresno State. As a returning college student, she had been feeling like a bit of an impostor herself and thought it would be helpful to learn more about it,” said study author Paul C. Price, a professor of psychology at California State University, Fresno.
“We noticed right away that although there have been a lot of studies on the impostor phenomenon, there has been very little meta-analytic work done to integrate the results of all those studies. And looking at gender differences seemed logical because it has been speculated since the late 70s that women experience this more than men do. On top of that, when you read the studies that are out there, some claim to have found gender differences but many claim to have found no gender differences.”
A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that combines the results of multiple scientific studies to identify patterns, discrepancies, or overall effects within a body of research. By aggregating data from various studies, a meta-analysis increases the sample size and statistical power, providing more robust and reliable conclusions than individual studies.
The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature search, identifying 304 articles that mentioned impostor syndrome in their titles. From these, they selected 83 articles that met their criteria, focusing on studies that included both women and men and provided sufficient data for calculating effect sizes. An additional 25 articles from an earlier search were also included, resulting in a total of 108 studies.
These studies spanned various fields, including academics, business, and healthcare, and involved participants from different regions, primarily North America, Europe, and Asia. The most commonly used measure of impostor syndrome was the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), a 20-item questionnaire assessing feelings of self-doubt, inability to internalize success, and attribution of success to external factors.
The meta-analysis included data from more than 42,000 participants. The weighted mean effect size was 0.27, indicating a small to moderate gender difference with women scoring higher than men. This difference was statistically significant and consistent across most studies.
“When we combined the results of over 100 studies that compared levels of impostor phenomenon between women and men, there is clearly a difference with women tending to score higher on average,” Price told PsyPost. “The difference is what psychologists might refer to as small to medium, but it is very consistent and similar in magnitude to gender differences in related variables like self-esteem and narcissism.”
“There may seem to be a contradiction above in that many past researchers claimed that there were no gender differences, yet almost all existing studies show a gender difference. This is because many of these studies used relatively small samples, so even when they produced a small to medium difference, that difference was not ‘statistically significant,’ and this is what led to claims of no gender difference or “mixed results.” When all of these smaller studies are combined in a meta-analysis, however, the differences become quite obvious.”
Interestingly, the gender difference did not decrease over time, despite changes in societal attitudes towards gender and increased female representation in higher education and prestigious careers. The researchers also found that gender differences in impostor syndrome varied by field and region. For example, gender differences were smaller in the business field compared to academic or miscellaneous fields. This might be due to differing gender dynamics or societal expectations in these areas.
Geographic region also played a role in the observed gender differences. Studies conducted in Asia reported smaller gender differences in impostor syndrome than those conducted in Europe and North America. This finding suggests that cultural factors might influence the experience of impostor syndrome, although the exact nature of these cultural influences remains unclear and warrants further investigation.
“Three things were surprising to me,” Price said. “One is the consistency of the difference. It is very rare to find studies in which there is close to no gender difference, and studies in which men score higher than women are almost unheard of. Another is that the size of the gender difference has held constant over the past four decades. You might think it would have decreased in size as gender equality has increased, but that clearly isn’t the case.
“Finally, the gender difference tends to be smaller (and only about half as large) for studies conducted in Asia than for studies conducted in Europe or North America. We don’t know why this is but it parallels findings on gender differences in self-esteem.”
Despite the consistent gender difference, it is also unclear how this impacts women’s success and wellbeing compared to men’s.
“It is common to assume that men’s lower levels of the impostor phenomenon are somehow more appropriate and that something should be done to bring women’s levels in line with men’s. But given that a certain amount of self-doubt is probably beneficial in many contexts, having a bit more of it may not be a bad thing. And as of right now, there are no studies showing that gender differences in the impostor phenomenon have consequences in terms of women’s success and wellbeing compared to men’s.”
“My student Makayla Payne and I are currently reviewing research on the impostor phenomenon among physicians and medical students. Some of my other students and I have been looking at whether first-generation college students experience more of the impostor phenomenon than continuing-generation college students. Interestingly, we haven’t found a difference here.”
The study, “Gender differences in impostor phenomenon: A meta-analytic review,” was authored by Paul C. Price, Brandi Holcomb, and Makayla B. Payne.
