Speaker
Dr
Rachel Ivie
(American Insitute of Physics)
Description
The impostor syndrome was first used by psychologists in 1978 to describe highly successful women who had difficulty internally recognizing their own achievements and continued to feel like they were impostors in their careers. Since that time, further research has demonstrated that men can also exhibit characteristics of this phenomenon. Impostor syndrome also has been referred to as the “impostor phenomenon,” and some scholars use the term “impostorism” to emphasize the role that social structures have in making people feel like impostors in fields in which they have expertise. In this talk, I will present research results on impostorism in physics and astronomy, discuss possible causes of impostorism, and suggest possible solutions.
