5 ms·

That just sounds like a lack of confidence. If you aren't an imposter, why would you call it imposter syndrome?

hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
>If you aren't an imposter, why would you call it imposter syndrome? Couldn't you say this about the names of various psychological syndromes? "If you aren't Alice in Wonderland, why would you call it Alice in Wonderland syndrome?" It's referring to the person's subjective experience, from their (perhaps warped) point of view.
- BigBubbleButt 5y ago
  You can call it whatever you want, but if the description doesn't fit I think it's fair to say it's at best a poor label. And it will always lead to confusion when just trying to communicate something. Why not just call a spade a spade?
  - hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
    It's a psychological condition afflicting someone, not that they're actually an imposter. Imagine a lawyer who is terrified to go to work every day. She went to a good law school, got good grades, passed the bar exam, is well-respected in her field, etc. But she is terrified that her colleagues will, one of these days, find out that she's not even truly a lawyer at all -- she's just someone who managed to jump through enough hoops to convince people that she's a real lawyer. Once the people around her learn who she really is, hoo boy... she's going to lose her law license and her reputation and her clients and her house... she lives in fear of being "found out" every single day and it's beginning to affect both her career and her health. Is this lawyer an imposter? No, she's truly the lawyer everyone thinks she is, and it would be inaccurate to call her an imposter. But she is suffering from imposter syndrome.
    - BigBubbleButt 5y ago
      What you just described is an example of imposter syndrome (at least the way I think of it). The comment I was responding to was not. If the lawyer feels like an imposter in her current role, that's different from feeling like an imposter in a role you don't even have. This is the distinction I'm making, and why I think the label doesn't fit. Should I feel like I have imposter syndrome because I'd be uncomfortable as a professional athlete, something I don't do? Or should I just realize I don't have confidence to do something else? To me those are very different. Recognizing I can't do everything isn't a form of imposter syndrome - if it is it makes the label completely meaningless. I'm aware it's a psychological condition. We're arguing over something we haven't even defined yet though, so how would you define it?
      - hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
        If someone doesn't think of themself as a "real artist" even though they really do make real art, they might not seek a paid job that uses their art skills, as a UI designer or otherwise. I think that could reasonably be described as "imposter syndrome" by a layperson, but I'm not going to haggle over whether or not it meets a formal definition.
        BigBubbleButt 5y ago
        > but I'm not going to haggle over whether or not it meets a formal definition I'm not trying to haggle, but we can't have a meaningful conversation about a term if you aren't going to define it. Agree to disagree, I guess.
      - chevill 5y ago
        >Should I feel like I have imposter syndrome because I'd be uncomfortable as a professional athlete, something I don't do? We aren't talking about short couch potatoes being scared to apply to the NBA. That's a justified sense of inadequacy. We're talking about people switching from one fairly normal job to another one that probably has a lot of overlap with what a person was already doing. Imposter syndrome is the unjustified sense of inadequacy. Its not a binary thing though. Some people would have a little bit of doubt transitioning to a slightly different role and that's normal. Change is scary to lots of people to varying degrees. However, some people are very competent, yet might be afraid to apply for a higher level position or a slightly different role because they fear that they are actually terrible and that they've gotten where they are due to luck and graft. That's imposter syndrome.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago
  Both imposter syndrome and alice in wonderland syndrome have the individual feeling like an imposter/alice in wonderland in this case?
jedimastert 5y ago
lack of confidence is imposter syndrome. Actual ability or lack there of has nothing to do with whether or not you feel like an imposter
chevill 5y ago
You seem to be misunderstanding what imposter syndrome is. The entire point is that you aren't an imposter but you feel like one. Its used to refer to people that are actually competent at what they do but they feel like they have faked everything and that the entire world is about to find out. A lack of self confidence is a core part of imposter syndrome.

>If you aren't an imposter, why would you call it imposter syndrome? Couldn't you say this about the names of various psychological syndromes? "If you aren't Alice in Wonderland, why would you call it Alice in Wonderland syndrome?" It's referring to the person's subjective experience, from their (perhaps warped) point of view.

BigBubbleButt 5y ago
You can call it whatever you want, but if the description doesn't fit I think it's fair to say it's at best a poor label. And it will always lead to confusion when just trying to communicate something. Why not just call a spade a spade?
- hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
  It's a psychological condition afflicting someone, not that they're actually an imposter. Imagine a lawyer who is terrified to go to work every day. She went to a good law school, got good grades, passed the bar exam, is well-respected in her field, etc. But she is terrified that her colleagues will, one of these days, find out that she's not even truly a lawyer at all -- she's just someone who managed to jump through enough hoops to convince people that she's a real lawyer. Once the people around her learn who she really is, hoo boy... she's going to lose her law license and her reputation and her clients and her house... she lives in fear of being "found out" every single day and it's beginning to affect both her career and her health. Is this lawyer an imposter? No, she's truly the lawyer everyone thinks she is, and it would be inaccurate to call her an imposter. But she is suffering from imposter syndrome.
  - BigBubbleButt 5y ago
    What you just described is an example of imposter syndrome (at least the way I think of it). The comment I was responding to was not. If the lawyer feels like an imposter in her current role, that's different from feeling like an imposter in a role you don't even have. This is the distinction I'm making, and why I think the label doesn't fit. Should I feel like I have imposter syndrome because I'd be uncomfortable as a professional athlete, something I don't do? Or should I just realize I don't have confidence to do something else? To me those are very different. Recognizing I can't do everything isn't a form of imposter syndrome - if it is it makes the label completely meaningless. I'm aware it's a psychological condition. We're arguing over something we haven't even defined yet though, so how would you define it?
    - hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
      If someone doesn't think of themself as a "real artist" even though they really do make real art, they might not seek a paid job that uses their art skills, as a UI designer or otherwise. I think that could reasonably be described as "imposter syndrome" by a layperson, but I'm not going to haggle over whether or not it meets a formal definition.
      - BigBubbleButt 5y ago
        > but I'm not going to haggle over whether or not it meets a formal definition I'm not trying to haggle, but we can't have a meaningful conversation about a term if you aren't going to define it. Agree to disagree, I guess.
    - chevill 5y ago
      >Should I feel like I have imposter syndrome because I'd be uncomfortable as a professional athlete, something I don't do? We aren't talking about short couch potatoes being scared to apply to the NBA. That's a justified sense of inadequacy. We're talking about people switching from one fairly normal job to another one that probably has a lot of overlap with what a person was already doing. Imposter syndrome is the unjustified sense of inadequacy. Its not a binary thing though. Some people would have a little bit of doubt transitioning to a slightly different role and that's normal. Change is scary to lots of people to varying degrees. However, some people are very competent, yet might be afraid to apply for a higher level position or a slightly different role because they fear that they are actually terrible and that they've gotten where they are due to luck and graft. That's imposter syndrome.
spywaregorilla 5y ago
Both imposter syndrome and alice in wonderland syndrome have the individual feeling like an imposter/alice in wonderland in this case?

jedimastert 5y ago

lack of confidence is imposter syndrome. Actual ability or lack there of has nothing to do with whether or not you feel like an imposter

chevill 5y ago

You seem to be misunderstanding what imposter syndrome is. The entire point is that you aren't an imposter but you feel like one. Its used to refer to people that are actually competent at what they do but they feel like they have faked everything and that the entire world is about to find out. A lack of self confidence is a core part of imposter syndrome.