vulnerable narcissism

When you feel like a fraud: The Imposter Syndrome

WHAT IS THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME?

First things first; if you're a nerd like me who wants to look this up in the scientific journals, they don't call it "Imposter Syndrome," they actually call it the "Imposter Phenomenon" (which led to my initial struggle in finding relevant papers on this topic in the scientific literature, despite it being soooo popular in general media.) But it has also been called the "fraud syndrome," "perceived fraudulence," and "imposter experience.")

One surprising thing that came from my high-level review of the psychological literature on this topic is that currently, researchers DO NOT AGREE on what this concept means.

This was surprising to me because it seems to be all over the internet and mentioned a lot in the vernacular, so I thought the state of the science was further along!

The main issue is whether it's ONE core thing (unidimensional) or MULTIPLE-THINGS (multidimensional) bundled together. So, I don't find it possible to give you a one-sentence definition of this, but more productive to outline what the researchers have been listing as part of this phenomenon.

Is it high self-esteem or narcissism?

In the last post, I went deep into whether Self-Affirmations can help with someone's (low) self-esteem. But I realize we didn't even discuss what self-esteem really is!

Although we all have a general understanding of what it is, one thing I find very helpful as a psychological scientist and coach is to get more specific, for both a psychological phenomenon and even what something means or manifests for a client. The higher the specificity, the clearer we understand what it is we are dealing with, what the problem really is, and how to actually try to fix it if necessary.

So this post is to help you determine whether you or someone you know has a high self-esteem or have narcissistic tendencies.

My favourite part...a quiz! Read the following statements and note which one is true for you.

  1. I like myself.

  2. I am highly effective at the things I do.

  3. I like being the most popular person at a party.

  4. I often feel as if I need compliments from others in order to be sure of myself.

  5. I am a worthwhile human being.

  6. I am almost always able to accomplish what I try for.

  7. I tend to take charge of most situations.

  8. I often hide my needs for fear that others will see me as needy and dependent.

  9. I am very comfortable with myself.

  10. I often fulfill my goals.

  11. When people judge me, I just don't care.

  12. I get angry when criticized.

  13. I have enough respect for myself.

  14. I deal well with challenges in my life.

  15. I deserve to receive special treatment.

  16. It irritates me when people don't notice how good a person I am.