Impostor syndrome is a concept describing people who have an inability to internalize their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud.

It was first discovered in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes.

The Margaret Sloss Women’s Center presented the third Feminist Friday, addressing how to overcome impostor syndrome at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Margaret Sloss House.

Dr. Dawn Bratsch-Prince, associate provost for faculty and professor of Spanish, began the conversation by presenting an article titled “How a Dean Got Over Impostor Syndrome- and Thinks You Can, Too.” 

The article is an interview with the dean of Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Valerie Sheares Ashby, and outlines how she struggled with impostor syndrome

Ashby was a faculty member at Iowa State from 1995 to 2003. 

Some were told at the beginning of their careers they may have to battle impostor syndrome and for others slowly discovered they were experiencing this. 

Bratsch-Prince presented a few questions from a quiz that may indicate you have impostor syndrome.

Some of the questions included “Do you ever think your success in a test, a job, or a situation is just random luck or good timing?” and “Do you ever think, ‘if I can do it anyone could?’”

“It’s not just women, it’s not just underrepresented groups, it’s everyone,” said Bratsch-Prince.

An element of impostor syndrome that resonated throughout the room was not being able to take a compliment without discounting it or flipping the compliment around. 

“Compliments are tough. I don’t pat myself on my own back often, so when I hear it, it’s just my job I’m not doing anything extraordinary,” said Lorraine Acker, director of the Women’s Center.

Others pointed out other issues they experience in relation to compliments.

“Rather than just saying ‘thank you,’ it’s a ‘yes, but’ kind of situation,” said Cara Stone, librarian at Parks Library. 

Bratsch-Prince offered a way to reframe how someone may think about themselves. She stated if a person is going out of their way to compliment someone else, and the person receiving the compliment dismisses them, it can be insulting to them.

“I kind of put myself in their position,” said Bratsch-Prince. “When I frame it that way, I am more accepting of it.”

Many feel women are expected to belittle themselves instead of accepting compliments for what they have achieved.

“It reminded me of the scene in ‘Mean Girls” when [Regina George] gives a girl a compliment and she says thank you and she stares at her until she says something belittling herself,” said Katie Thompson, graduate student in ecology, evolution and organismal biology.

Other women in the group echoed their concerns with the gendered ways we communicate compliments and the way it is perceived when women accept compliments without contrasting it. 

Bratsch-Prince discussed a group of women on campus reading the book “Playing Big” by Tara Mohr and recommended other women read the book to address the critical voice that causes some of these doubts or worries. 

Some women expressed concerns that this syndrome does not play out the same in men as it does in women. 

“They just have the confidence to just do and I need the confidence to just do,” said Shaina Destine, librarian at Parks Library.

As the conversation continued, a concern about how men and women understand their qualifications for positions in relation to impostor syndrome arose.

“We need to check every box to be qualified and others don’t have to do that,” Bratsch-Prince said.

Other women echoed the concern that men are socialized to be confident, even when they don’t have all of the qualifications, and women do not have the same socialization.

Other topics such as obtaining mentorship and asking for raises or more incentives were also discussed.

Feminist Fridays will return after winter break.