Abstract
At least a hundred times this morning, I wondered why the editors asked me to write this essay. I’m not an expert on this topic. What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said? They will probably rescind my contract. Can’t they see I’m an imposter?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Parts of this essay are adapted from Houston, N. M. “Too Much Self Doubt? Try Thinking Like A Creator.” ProfHacker (blog), The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 25, 2010, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/too-much-self-doubt-try-thinking-like-a-creator/25071.
Clance, P. R. and S. Imes. “The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 15 (1978): 241–247.
See, for example, Clance, P. R. The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming the Fear that Haunts Your Success, Atlanta: Peachtree, 1985
Jarrett, C. “Feeling like a Fraud,” Psychologist 23 (2010): 380–383
and Young, V. The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, New York: Crown, 2011.
Kaplan, K. “Unmasking the Imposter,” Nature 459 (2009): 468–469.
Laursen, L. “No, You’re Not an Impostor,” Science Careers 15 (February 15 2008), accessed August 6, 2014, http://science-careers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/arti-cles/2008_02_15/caredit.a0800025.
See, for example, Pinker, S. “Field Guide to the Self-Doubter: Extra Credit,” Psychology Today, November 1, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200911/field-guide-the-self-doubter-extra-credit.
A good introduction to mindfulness techniques is Kabat-Zinn, J. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, New York: Hyperion, 1994.
Such practices are described in Houston, N. M. “Got a Minute? Relax.” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 3, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/got-a-minute-relax/22680
and Houston, N. M. “Got a Minute? Count Backwards,” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 29, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/got-a-minute-count-backwards/22801.
I also recommend Neill, M. Feel Happy Now! Carlsbad: Hay House, 2008.
A fuller exploration of these simple but powerful questions can be found in Katie, B. Loving What Is: How Four Questions Can Change Your Life, New York: Harmony Books, 2002.
Houston, N. M. “Why I Keep an Idea Notebook,” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 26, 2010, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/why-i-keep-an-idea-notebook/28113.
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2015 Greg Colón Semenza and Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Houston, N.M. (2015). Imposter Phenomenon. In: Semenza, G.C., Sullivan, G.A. (eds) How to Build a Life in the Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428899_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428899_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-42888-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-42889-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)