Investigating impostor phenomenon from the perspective of psychodynamic approach

Impostor phenomenon is a concept which defines the experiences of people who can't internalize success and suffers from the fear of being exposed about their intellectual inadequancy, even in the presence of evidence which approves success. This study aims to investigate impostor phenomenon through the lens of psychodynamic approach. The relationship between impostor phenomenon and psychodynamich elements; which are object relations, personality organizations and defense mechanisms, has been investigated in this study. Online surveys are administered to the 196 participants between the ages of 18 and 65 by using the simple random sampling method (Mage=36.87, S.D.= 12.007). Participants are asked to complete the forms of Sociodemographic Information Form, Bell Object Relation and Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI), Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), Personality Organization Test (KOREN) and Defense Style Questionnare (DSQ). Data of participants who are included in the study is analyzed in SPSS 27.0. Data is examined through the analysis of Hierarchical Multiple Regressions and Spearman Correlation Test. According to the results, impostor phenomenon is significantly related to sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, educational status and employment status. From the psychodynamic perspective; object relations, personality organizations and defense mechanisms are found significantly correlated to impostor phenomenon. It has been found that the variables that most predicted the impostor phenomenon are insecure attachment and social incompetence, which are sub-categories of object relations, as well as identity diffusion, which is a subdimension of personality organization. The variables which are mentioned earlier explain the %41 of variance. The current study explains the significant relationship between the psychodynamically examined dimensions of personality and the impostor phenomenon. However, there remains a need for further studies with different samples and methods to support these findings from a psychodynamic perspective.