perceived fraudulence scale
(1992). Overall, 18 studies were evaluated in this systematic review. Life Res. TED talks viewed over 14 million times online offer body language solutions and the notion of faking it until you make it to overcome the impostor “syndrome” (Cuddy, 2012). Three studies received positive ratings for internal consistency. It will leverage definitions from the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association et al., 2014) to ensure consistency with current psychometric guidelines for scale validation. Three HIPS studies explored the factorial structure of the measure. Sci. The comprehensive reporting of essential psychometric data will enable meaningful conclusions. Terwee et al. Assess. It is also positively worded to minimize social desirability effects. Stronger impostorism feelings in working professionals are associated with lower levels of job satisfaction, lower organizational citizenship behaviors—discretionary actions that benefit colleagues and the organization—and higher continuance commitment, that is, higher perceived costs of leaving their organization (Vergauwe et al., 2015). *Correspondence: Karina K. L. Mak, karina.mak@sydney.edu.au, Front. Seven of these studies examined the factorial structure of the CIPS and only three reported the subscale reliability statistics (French et al., 2008; McElwee and Yurak, 2010; Brauer and Wolf, 2016). Among the positively rated studies examining the CIPS, HIPS, and PFS consistent yet discriminant relationships were established with other constructs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). However, Harvey (1981) asserted a failure to internalize success and viewing oneself as an impostor was not limited to highly successful people. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. The two scales were found to have high internal consistency and to correlate in a similar manner with other measures. The findings often highlighted that studies did not necessarily report poor psychometric properties; rather an absence of data and stringent assessment criteria resulted in lower methodological ratings. Two used the Leary Imposter Scale, 55, 56 two used self-developed questionnaires, 15, 19 one 45 used the Perceived Fraudulence Scale, 1 and one used the Young Imposter scale. The PFS and LIS were newly developed impostor phenomenon measures at the time and scale development data was only available upon request from the first authors. (1995). Although the impostor phenomenon is not an officially diagnosable health condition, its measures are similar to health-status instruments and designed to identify individuals who self-report experiencing the phenomenon, which in itself, is associated with established well-being consequences and poorer mental health (e.g., Chrisman et al., 1995; Sonnak and Towell, 2001). The comprehensive reporting of essential data was a crucial element for studies to be appraised with higher scores based on the measurement criteria. (1978). Pers. (2016, July 7). This subsequently results in lower ratings that are not necessarily due to poor questionnaire design or performance, but rather an absence of data or existing research. This investigation consists of two studies designed to examine perceived fraudulence, its measurement, and the personality traits associated with the experience in young adults. The English and German CIPS were factor analyzed resulting in a three factor theoretically preferred model aligned to Clance's (1985) original conceptualization of the impostor phenomenon as Fake, Luck and Discount (Holmes et al., 1993; Chrisman et al., 1995; Brauer and Wolf, 2016). Holmes et al. Similarly, a CIPS validation study also reported an alpha of 0.94 for the PFS. This will be an important contribution to the current evidence base and support the meaningful interpretation of results that have real-world implications. Feel like a fraud? Kolligian and Sternberg's (1991) study also received a positive rating for sufficient item selection information however, Leary et al. Rather, impostorism is experienced when individuals are specifically faced with achievement tasks regardless of their success status or gender (Harvey and Katz, 1985). Scale, adapted to fit a music-specific context. Also, the limited number of studies identified in this review, highlight the opportunity for increased research validating measures of impostorism and utilizing rigorous criteria to aid in research design and reporting, similar to established clinical conditions. (2010). A recommendation for improved reporting of data is made for future research. The following evaluative ratings and scores were applied—“+” (2) as good, “?” (1) as intermediately rated, “–” (0) negatively rated or a “0” (0) was assigned if no information was available. The Perceived Fraudulence Scale (PFS) provided another alternative in 1991, and the Leary Impostorism Scale (LIS) emerged in 2000. Currently, the developmental trajectory of the impostor phenomenon is unknown. (2010). (2000) 68, 725–756. Predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were specified to select the final 18 studies in the review sample. To better understand the dimensionality of the construct and therefore establish conceptual clarity of the impostor phenomenon, it is suggested statistical analyses utilizing Classical Test Theory and/or Item Response Theory are applied to impostorism measures with appropriate sample sizes. These individuals want to appear competent and intelligent to those around them, but they fear that they will be unable to maintain the success that they have experienced in the past. 7:821. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00821, Sakulku, J. Five studies primarily examined the HIPS with overall Cronbach alphas ranging from 0.34 to 0.85, in addition to a study comparing the CIPS and HIPS (α = 0.91) (Holmes et al., 1993) and a second study comparing the PFS to HIPS (α = 0.64) (Kolligian and Sternberg, 1991). This total score is not a marker of overall quality, however, it provides a metric to rank the 18 studies selected in this review and to aid researchers and practitioners with their unique objectives. J. Pers. This review identified a gold standard measure is yet to be established and this has been limited by conceptual clarity around the dimensionality of the impostor phenomenon, its operationalization across measures, distributional properties across different groups (e.g., clinical samples, gender, age, cultures) and it's reproducibility. Flow diagram of study selection. Psychother. The impostor phenomenon describes a psychological experience of intellectual and professional fraudulence (Clance and Imes, 1978; Matthews and Clance, 1985). Researchers acknowledged that participants were not randomly assigned to groups, however, it was suggested the CIPS is the instrument of choice for use with the general population due to its sensitivity and reliability (Holmes et al., 1993). Rationale was not provided for this research design and highlights a consistent gap in the current evidence base. Of the reviewed studies, four studies utilized two or more impostor phenomenon measures and reported correlation coefficients. These findings did not provide sufficient evidence to establish the CIPS nor HIPS as a gold standard measure of the impostor phenomenon. Two observers independently rated each included study against the nine psychometric properties of the quality appraisal tool (Terwee et al., 2007). The ratings on each measurement property were totaled across all studies from low (0) to high (18). Fraudulence Scale (PFS; Kolligian & Sternberg, 1991), Chrisman and colleagues (1995) assessed affect, depressive symptoms, fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem, self- criticism, self-monitoring and imposter feelings in undergraduate students. Assess. doi: 10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.401. However, following factor analysis, an alpha of 0.80 was reported for a better fitting 11-item two factor model (self-confidence and impostor phenomenon) for the HIPS. Without robust and consistent validation results and conceptual clarity, it is currently premature to select a ‘gold standard’ measure within the context of an evidence base that is still growing. Quality ratings identified longitudinal research as an area for future directions and the need for consistent reporting of essential psychometric data to aid researcher and practitioner purposes. This three factor structure aligned to the typical three characteristics of the impostor phenomenon presented by Clance (1985) and equivalent to the English version of the CIPS—feeling like a fake, discounting achievement, and attributing success to luck. Therefore, developing a thorough understanding of the nature of the impostor phenomenon and its consequences requires the use of psychometrically sound and appropriate tools to measure the construct. Based on the study ratings for all nine measurement properties, establishing the internal dimensionality of the impostor phenomenon could not be reached due to mixed results from the selected papers. This rating reflected the limited evidence base in which a “gold standard” comparison was not possible and therefore applied to Criterion Validity. Measuring the impostor phenomenon: a comparison of Clance's IP Scale and Harvey's I-P Scale. However, due to doubtful design, no Item Response Theory or factor analysis, studies were then allocated indeterminate ratings for the internal consistency criterion. The reliabilities of the three impostor scales were acceptable: IT, .90; IPS, .72, PFS, .88. Available online at: https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are (accessed October 25, 2018). The authors of this review decided to only evaluate the Topping (1983) dissertation as it included the full set of results from the sample of 285 university faculty members. In comparison, the Leary Impostor Scale is a 7-item instrument aligned to a unidimensional conceptualization of the impostor phenomenon as solely focused on a sense of being an impostor or fraud (Leary et al., 2000). Pers. 5, 201–220. (1985). Stahl, A (2017, December 10). Psychotherapy Private Pract. Gender distribution was also omitted in Harvey's (1981) original scale development study. Specifically, validity was viewed as a unitary concept and the extent to which different types of accumulated validity evidence supported the intended interpretation of test scores. J. Behav. (2018). By applying a quality appraisal framework to each study, the findings indicated strengths and several gaps across the nine measurement properties. While mainstream media, has offered solutions to this psychological experience, peer-reviewed literature identify variations in definitions and conceptualizations of trait impostorism (Sakulku, 2011). J. Clin. Increasingly, impostorism research has expanded beyond clinical and into applied settings. Reliability (test-retest) refers to the extent individuals are distinguishable from each other, despite measurement errors (Terwee et al., 2007). doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.101.2.314, Terwee, C. B., Bot, S. D., de Boer, M. R., van der Windt, D. A., Knol, D. L., Dekker, J., et al. Fear of success, fear of failure and the impostor phenomenon: a factor analytic approach to convergent and discriminant validity. Front. These results raise points for discussion about the conceptualization and dimensionality of impostorism. 3, 71–81. Unpublished manuscript. Swann, W. B., Wenzlaff, R. M., and Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Perceived Fraudulence Scale (PFS) The PFS was developed by psychologists John Kolligian and Robert J. Sternberg in 1991. A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. This study examined the relationship of the social self to body esteem and to bulimia nervosa. The impostor phenomenon was originally observed in clinical female populations and defined as a predisposition unique to successful individuals (Clance and Imes, 1978). Overview of ratings on psychometric properties in included studies. The majority of selected studies provided adequate information for content validity and internal consistency. However, despite examining the test-retest reliability of the appraisal measures at the 6 to 8-week follow-up, the impostor phenomenon measures were not revisited to obtain longitudinal data. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. 3099067 Sonnak, C., and Towell, T. (2001). However, to date, a systematic literature review examining the methodological quality of impostor phenomenon measures has yet to be conducted. Of the 18 studies included in the systematic review, 11 primarily examined the CIPS, 5 examined the HIPS, 1 examined the PFS, and 1 examined the LIS. The construct validity criteria require studies to formulate theory-driven specific hypotheses and at least 75% of the results are in correspondence with these hypotheses to obtain a positive rating (Terwee et al., 2007). It was also noted, several studies did not comprehensively report descriptive statistics for sample characteristics such as mean age, standard deviations and gender breakdown (refer to Table 2). In comparison, a HIPS four-factor model was presented with moderate correlations however subscale alphas were not reported (Fried-Buchalter, 1992). We use cookies to improve your website experience. The first instrument was constructed by Harvey (1981), a 14-item scale developed with graduate and undergraduate populations. Similar to the CIPS, an overall total score continues to be calculated on the HIPS rather than subscale scores to reflect the multidimensional definition of the measure as postulated by Harvey (1981). (1993) provided means and standard deviations for clinician referred and non-clinical subgroups on the CIPS, while Topping (1983) comprehensively reported descriptive statistics by gender and faculty rank on the HIPS. The impostor phenomenon describes a psychological experience of intellectual and professional fraudulence (Clance and Imes, 1978; Matthews and Clance, 1985). Retrieved from Sociological Collection database. 19, 539–549. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2005.10.005, Windle, G., Bennett, K. M., and Noyes, J. Pers. Theoretically, each measure reflects the features of each definition. Peer-reviewed journal articles and unpublished dissertations were included in the review if they were an original quantitative research study that developed, validated and/or investigated the psychometric properties of a self-report measure of trait impostorism and sampled an adolescent or adult population. Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud". Overall, total scores also highlighted areas for improvement in future research design and the reporting of essential psychometric data. Clance, P. R. (1985). These findings suggest the impostor phenomenon has consequences beyond clinical and student populations. As expected, assessment criteria for specific methodological and psychometric properties are strict to distinguish between quality measures as they relate to patient reported health outcomes. A clear “gold standard” measure of the impostor phenomenon was not ascertained. 60, 34–42. It was also common among the studies reviewed for sample descriptive statistics such as age not being reported or only age range (Harvey, 1981; Topping, 1983; Cozzarelli and Major, 1990; Fried-Buchalter, 1992; Leary et al., 2000). Quality criteria were proposed for measurement properties of health status questionnaires. A systematic search was conducted in six electronic databases—PsycINFO, Web of Science, Business Source, Scopus, Proquest and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 86, 482–486. Psychol. Pers. Figure 1 is a flow diagram documenting the review process. Descriptive analyses were conducted Individ. Therefore, measures based on definitions that conceptually assume consistencies in thoughts, feelings and behaviors across situations and time. While it was acknowledged comprehensive scale development data for some measures were only accessible upon request from first authors (Kolligian and Sternberg, 1991; Kertay et al., 1992; Leary et al., 2000), in most instances, attempts to obtain research data and/or papers in a timely manner were unsuccessful. Moreover both measures, CIPS and PFS, assess the same content, share comparable relations to external variables, and correlate positively with each other, supporting convergent validity. J. Soc. The recommendations with respect to a “gold standard measure” of the impostor phenomenon are also discussed. Rating the methodological quality in systematic reviews of studies on measurement properties: a scoring system for the COSMIN checklist. Clearer and convincing rationale would provide greater clarity about this methodology in scoring. Despite the use of a 16-item CIPS which resulted in a theoretically preferred three factor model, the 20-item one factor model of the CIPS continues to be used and a total score is calculated for individuals who complete the measure. The impostor phenomenon is an intense feeling of intellectual fraudulence experienced by many high-achieving individuals. 's (2000) article was rated indeterminate overall for content validity as Study 1 provided adequate evidence, however, Study 2 did not provide item selection information for the LIS development. However, since the developmental trajectory of the impostor phenomenon is currently unknown, the use of such measures especially with child, adolescent, and older populations requires theoretically driven justification even more so. However, the remaining studies were allocated indeterminate or poor ratings due to inadequate information to assign qualitative meaning to quantitative findings. Bernard, Dollinger, and Ramaniah (2002), conducted a study with the goal of relating the impostor phenomenon to the Five-factor model of personality. J. Pers. The remaining studies were allocated indeterminate ratings for gaps in addressing one or more criterion for internal consistency. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. Studies have shown discrepancies between self- and reflected appraisals in individuals experiencing impostorism and found differences in how impostors react when their responses are public vs. private and when the other person (“perceiver”) is seen as equal or higher in status (Leary et al., 2000; McElwee and Yurak, 2007, 2010). The subscale reliabilities were not presented. Validation of the German-language Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (GCIPS). This review aims to address this gap. The 18 studies in the review sample did not examine repeated measures of the impostor phenomenon, therefore no information was available for agreement. The review will also follow the PRISMA Statement and guidelines for conducting and reporting systematic reviews (Liberati et al., 2009). PLoS Med. doi: 10.1177/001316446002000104, Cozzarelli, C., and Major, B. Dif. They developed the Perceived Fraudulence Scale (PFS), which they validated by administering it to 50 undergraduate students along with several other scales intended to measure a subject’s perceptions of achievement pressure, depression, self-esteem, self-monitoring, social anxiety, and daydreaming styles. Despite this popularity, research is yet to firmly establish the strength of this instrument over others. Discusses the characteristic of perceived fraudulence, or self-doubt. Validation of the impostor phenomenon among managers. Scale contains items that identify: • Fear of failure • Attribution of success to luck, error, or charm • The desire to stand out • The feeling of having given others a false impression Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. These studies conducted factor analysis on an adequate sample size, with appropriate design and method, and reported Cronbach's alphas between 0.70 and 0.95 for each dimension and overall. Comprehensive reporting of psychometric data is necessary to assess the hypothesized structure of a construct and to evaluate the adequacy of its operationalization in measurement scales. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Since none of the studies selected examined longitudinal changes of the impostorism measures and the construct is not classified as a clinical condition, not reported ratings were applied for all studies. Qual. Leary et al. Psychol. Two other studies were also allocated an indeterminate rating for content validity. Copyright © 2019 Mak, Kleitman and Abbott. Search results were initially screened by title and abstract to exclude research that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Feeling versus acting like an impostor: Real feelings of fraudulence or self-presentation? doi: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.CautionaryStatement, Bechtoldt, M. N. (2015). Reliability coefficients for the perceived fraudu-lence scale (a=.90) and the musical efficacy beliefs scale (a=.81) were strong. (2011). 83, 161–166. Increasingly, impostorism research has expanded … 20, 37–46. Efficacy beliefs were measured using a researcher-developed scale designed to gauge both general and comparative confi-dence. 8, 184–197. (2000) focus on a unidimensional definition. Subsequently, of the remaining studies, the full-text papers were obtained and evaluated according to their relevance in meeting the stipulated inclusion/exclusion criteria. J. Pers. New York, NY: St Martin's Press. University of South Florida, Tampa (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). (1995) reported a coefficient of 0.78 between the CIPS and PFS. Individ. 6:e1000100. Subsequently, an additional two studies were included following review of reference lists. J. Pers. (2011). Hellman, C. M., and Caselman, T. D. (2004). Consequently, these measures can be confidently used in research and applied settings, increase conceptual understanding, and assist in the development of evidence-based support. Increasingly, systematic literature reviews are commonly being carried out to evaluate validation studies of self-report measurement scales, for example, anxiety or resilience measures (Windle et al., 2011; Modini et al., 2015). This is a significant gap given the increased research and mainstream interest in the impostor phenomenon. J. Pers. Individ. Despite the variation in definition and popularity of some measures over others, these instruments are yet to be subjected to a systematic evaluation of their psychometric properties. Harvard Business Review. doi: 10.1027/2151-2604/a000102. One validated and well-studied measure is the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale , which can be used to determine if an individual has IS and, if so, its severity. (1990). Epidemiol. 31, 863–874. J. Abnorm. Clance, P. R., and Imes, S. (1978). Perceived fraudulence in young adults: Is there an “Impostor Syndrome?” Journal of Personality Assessment, 56, 308-326. Several instruments have been developed to help identify IS and assess its severity. Correlational patterns and regression analyses supported the investigators' conceptualization of perceived fraudulence as involving a combination of fraudulent ideation, depressive tendencies, self-criticism, social anxiety, achievement pressures, and self-monitoring skills. 65, 456–467. Psychol. It was also argued the CIPS had reduced incidents of false positives and false negatives when establishing cut-off scores. Figure 1. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. The Perceived Fraudulence Scale 9 focuses on the multi-dimensional and impression managing features described by Kolligian and Sternberg. It is also suggested that researchers who examine change scores at a minimum, ensure means, standard deviations, and sample sizes are reported to enable sample size calculations. Fraudulence, in Jonas Lüscher’s world, is a universal. The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale has a good reliability with Cronbach’s α=0.7833, 0.85 and 0.8231, and 0.71 and 0.8634 depending on the participants or the analysis of subfactors within the scale. Recent Examples on the Web The hope, perhaps, is that thousands or millions of Q believers will now accept the fraudulence of their bizarre fantasy. Furthermore, instances of low internal consistency for the HIPS and the questionable stability of impostorism as measured by 14 items in a one factor model, rather than 11 items in a better fitting two factor solution did not provide convincing arguments for the HIPS being the gold standard either (Hellman and Caselman, 2004). Psychometrics: doi: 10.1007/s11136-011-9960-1. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association et al., 2014) were leveraged when considering key issues of validity and reliability in the selected studies. (2016). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. Leary et al. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. If scores are to be trusted as true representations of the impostor phenomenon, sufficient evidence of adequate validity, reliability and responsiveness of measures are necessary. This review has highlighted a gold standard is yet to be established and this is due to a number of factors relating to chronology, dimensional clarity and scale popularity. Although the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and text are primarily designed to assist clinicians in conducting clinical assessment, case formulation, and treatment planning, DSM-5 is also used as a reference for the courts and attorneys in assessing the forensic consequences of mental disorders. However, perceived fraudulence also emphasizes impression management and self-monitoring by individuals who are concerned about their self-worth and social image; constructs not emphasized in previous definitions. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2006.03.012, Terwee, C. B., Mokkink, L. B., Knol, D. L., et al. Table 1. 40, 961–971. Studies were excluded in the review if a child population was utilized, were non-peer reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, non-psychometric studies and not written in the English language. Res. The psychometric properties of all included studies were assessed by applying a published quality appraisal tool (Terwee et al., 2007). The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale is the most commonly used measure by researchers and practitioners. Assess. The two scales were found to have high internal consistency and to correlate in a similar manner with other measures. Eighteen studies pertaining to four trait impostor phenomenon measures were identified and evaluated utilizing a published quality appraisal tool (Terwee et al., 2007). Harvey, J. C., and Katz, C. (1985). The limited number of PFS and LIS studies in this review demonstrated the need for further exploration of these measures. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (Clance, 1985) was used to evaluate the IP. Over 80% of these papers are publications from impostorism research conducted in the last 20 years. Harvey (1981), Clance (1985), and Kolligian and Sternberg (1991) postulate that impostorism is a multidimensional construct. Based on the quality assessment framework, measurement gaps were identified in each study resulting in indeterminate or poor ratings across one or more criteria. Five of the selected studies compared various impostor phenomenon measures to each other and reported consistently high correlation coefficients exceeding .70. It was that it misrepresented the solutions. Treatment of the impostor phenomenon in psychotherapy clients. This alludes to a self-presentation characteristic similar to Kolligian and Sternberg (1991), however, Leary et al. The final search was conducted in all databases on 22nd February 2018. (1960). 7, 213–226. Conducting this review also highlighted challenges in accessing research from the impostor phenomenon literature. Systematic reviews typically limit searches to peer-reviewed journal articles, however, due to the limited number of validation studies of impostor phenomenon measures a consensus decision was made by the researchers to include these dissertations. The primary aims of the present review are to (1) systematically identify self-report measures of the impostor phenomenon in the literature, (2) assess the psychometric properties presented in validation studies against a standardized quality appraisal tool, (3) discuss the conceptualization of the construct against an evaluation of the usefulness of the identified measures and (4) ascertain whether a gold standard measure of the impostor phenomenon exists. In Phase 1, in which 222 nonclinical women (aged 16 to 50) participated, the social-self measures of Perceived Fraudulence, Social Anxiety, and Public Self-Consciousness … Behav. Collectively, these measures will be the focus of this systematic review. Impact Factor 2.067 | CiteScore 3.2More on impact ›, University of Texas at Austin, United States. Life Res. In earlier studies, it was not possible to provide gold standard comparisons since the HIPS (Harvey, 1981) was the first impostor phenomenon measure developed and the CIPS was not constructed until 1985 for comparison to be possible.