The Imposter Phenomenon and Achievement Dispositions in High-Achieving Women in Clinical Psychology

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between imposter feelings and achievement dispositions (i.e., self-handicapping behaviors and personal development competitive attitudes). It was hypothesized that imposter feelings would be positively correlated to self-handicapping behaviors and negatively correlated to personal development competitive attitudes. Female clinical psychologists with at least 10 years of postlicensure experience (<em>N</em> = 75) were recruited via American Psychological Association Division Listservs, the Illinois Psychological Association’s Listserv, and networking among mental health professionals. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and the Personal Development Competitive Attitude Scale (PDCA). Two Pearson product-moment correlations were run to examine the relationships. A moderate positive correlation was found between a woman’s experience of imposter characteristics and her tendency to self-handicap, confirming the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, as the correlation between imposter characteristics and personal development competitive attitudes was non-significant. The findings from this study are directly applicable to the therapeutic context, as these factors provide insight into the internal experiences and perspectives of women psychologists and help to encourage a conversation regarding self-awareness in therapists.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - NLU Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Clinical Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Sivesind, Kayla

Contributors dc:contributor

• Charles E. Davis, PhD
• Sandra G. Zakowski, PhD
• Shivroup K. Grewal, PsyD

• imposter phenomenon
• achievement dispositions
• self-handicapping
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/518

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1561