Ewan Bottomley, Vivienne Wild, Paula Miles, Antje Kohnle, Kenneth Mavor
University of St Andrews

Imposter phenomenon¹ is when competent people believe that they are underqualified or do not belong in a position [1]. Applied to the physics classroom, students with imposter phenomenon may wonder if they are capable enough to complete the course, perhaps wondering if they should be there in the first place. They are likely to attribute successes to external factors [1], and may not realise that others feel this way [2]. Imposter feelings are linked to reduced mental wellbeing [3], and may contribute to students choosing to leave physics [4].

The experience of imposter phenomenon may be caused by many factors, such as belonging uncertainty, low self-efficacy, social comparison, and brilliance expectations [5]. In this nugget we discuss how each of these factors play a role in the physics classroom, why they may disproportionately impact students from under-represented groups, and present a new intervention designed to address imposter phenomenon in physics students.

Belonging uncertainty
Being unsure whether you belong can be a challenge for any new student, but particularly for students who may not feel represented in the student or instructor population [6]. For example, in undergraduate physics, women, ethnic minorities and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are usually outnumbered in the classroom [7-9]. A lack of a diverse instructor population leads to an absence of role models for minority students, meaning that students do not have the opportunity to overcome implicit stereotypes that science is masculine [10], white or “middle class”. This is an important consideration, as having role models or ‘people like me’ in the classroom can influence students’ interest in the subject [11].

Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is your confidence in your ability to complete certain tasks, for example physics-based problems. A student’s under-confidence in their ability is a strong predictor of imposter feelings [12]. New physics undergraduates will face material which is considerably more complex or abstract than seen before which could lead to, often very capable, students feeling like an imposter in class. A host of studies have found women physics students report being less confident in their physics abilities than men [see 13-14], which may disproportionately result in increased imposter feelings.

Social comparison
Self-doubts surrounding students’ abilities may stem from comparing themselves with their peers, and making negative self-evaluations if they do not view themselves as being as capable [15]. Greater levels of social comparison translate into higher levels of imposter feelings [16]. For example, in a large sample of undergraduate physics students, Lee et al. [17] found that students who had a fixed mindset towards their studies were more likely to report being concerned by social comparison, which negatively related to their self-efficacy. As mentioned above, low self-efficacy relates to higher levels of imposter feelings. More studies are needed to understand whether social comparison may disproportionately affect under-represented groups, due to the obvious demographic differences in physics classrooms.

Brilliance Expectation
Society widely believes physicists to be naturally very intelligent [18]. In reality, physicists have to work hard to achieve understanding and success. Disciplines with relatively few women (physics included) tend to have higher perceived levels of brilliance expectations compared to those disciplines where women are over-represented [18]. Higher levels of brilliance expectations can be a problem, as students may adopt the idea that they must be brilliant to succeed, or may lead to students feeling that they should be able to pick up new concepts with ease. This may again make them question their belonging in the classroom.

An imposter intervention
Whilst there are multiple potential causes for feelings of imposter phenomenon in physics students, we believe that measures can be taken to alleviate these concerns, building on tried and tested interventions to improve feelings on belonging in undergraduates [2]. Although imposter feelings may disproportionately affect women in the physics context [see 19], there is little research on other under-represented groups, and in physics many students will experience imposter feelings regardless of personal demographics. It is therefore crucial that any intervention reaches all students, not just one particular “target” group. Our hour-long imposter workshop [5] runs as part of a compulsory first year physics study skills workshop series.

Knowing that others have been in a similar position may help everyone to not feel as alone when suffering the impact of imposter feelings. In our intervention we aim to highlight the social support network for students. Following the intervention, students report that discussing the concept of imposter phenomenon with one another was a positive experience [5]. Addressing the “brilliance expectation” in undergraduate physics is crucial for students to learn how to engage with new material. They must learn that not understanding a concept is part of the process of learning. In our intervention we highlight that the feeling of not knowing something is common, and indeed necessary to be a scientist, to help students feel less overwhelmed by the experience.

Summary
Belonging uncertainty and imposter feelings are common for students, particularly in the transition to higher education. There are numerous interconnected reasons as to why this may impact physics students in particular, such as brilliance expectations and low self-efficacy. Of particular concern is that imposter feelings may disproportionately impact under-represented groups, leading to an increased likelihood that they leave the field, perpetuating its lack of diversity. We have outlined a short intervention for undergraduate physics students that addresses some of the reasons that underly the imposter phenomenon.

1. Imposter phenomenon is more commonly referred to as “imposter syndrome”, however such labelling encourages a negative perception, which may not be helpful. ↩︎

References
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