Admitting imposter feelings may undermine professors’ perceived competence, study finds

University faculty are expected to have confidence in the classroom. However, the pressures of life in academia can often lead to a sense of self-doubt – commonly known as impostor syndrome – despite objective success. 

New research from Colorado State University demonstrates that faculty sharing an internal sense of unease and inadequacy may significantly shape the ways students perceive their professors’ overall competence, likeability and effectiveness at teaching. 

The results show that students found a hypothetical professor who publicly acknowledged feelings of being an impostor to be less hirable than an equally accomplished faculty member who did not make the same disclosure. The findings have implications for faculty development and retention strategies as well as mentorship activities with students. They could also be valuable beyond academia as leaders working in many capacities aim to demonstrate vulnerability in the name of building trust within their teams. 

The work was led at CSU by Ph.D. candidate Alexa Jayne and published in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology. Jayne said she became interested in the topic while working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Psychology. Through interactions with students, she began to recognize her own feelings of impostor syndrome. 

“Teaching was a beautiful experience that I loved, but I also noticed that I was not feeling capable or good enough in spite of the objective success I was having,” Jayne said. “That led me want to explore the phenomenon in more detail, but especially the ways it affects how others externally perceive you, which was a gap in the existing literature.” 

Impostor syndrome or phenomenon refers to a psychological pattern in which individuals have a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud,” despite evident success. It is common in higher education, where many high-performing people can struggle with receiving feedback in instances such as paper reviews or when pursuing tenure, for example. 

To study the phenomenon, students in the study were presented two brief and nearly identical vignettes about a hypothetical tenured professor. While the subject was described as well accomplished in both instances, one version also specifically listed their tendency to attribute success to external factors and a fear of being exposed as a fraud despite consistent positive evaluations by peers and students. Students were then asked to evaluate the teacher based on a range of variables. Those variables included measures such as likeability as well as questions about what the estimated average grade in their class would be, what their salary was and whether they as students would enroll in the class. Demographic information about the hypothetical teacher was kept purposefully vague to try and limit areas of potential bias. 

The participants thought the professor who mentioned feelings of self-doubt had significantly less experience and earned $10,000 less than the one described in the control group. However, in both cases the hypothetical teacher was found to be equally likeable. Jayne said that suggests that displaying minor flaws can be humanizing and supports approachability. She said the results of the survey also showed that students were equally likely to want to enroll in both classes.  

The findings illustrate a careful balance instructors and faculty must navigate, Jayne noted.    

“At least in this study, it seems students do still perceive or equate confidence with competence. That doesn’t mean that is the right way to navigate these spaces though,” she said. “Instead, it means these disclosures need to be thoughtfully done so that instructors can find ways to connect with students without unintentionally undermining their own standing.” 

Jayne added that this research could be particularly relevant to groups that are pre-disposed to feelings of impostor syndrome, such as women in STEM, whose experiences inform their mentorship activities throughout their careers. 

“I don’t want this research to be taken as, ‘You should never be vulnerable in a classroom,’” she said. “Rather, I hope this is a step towards normalizing these feelings and supporting the retention and advancement of faculty – especially in those marginalized groups we know can suffer from these feelings – by addressing them in a structured way.” 

Jayne is finishing her Ph.D. under Professor Bryan Dik in the Department of Psychology and plans to graduate in spring 2026.  

Dik’s research at CSU broadly explores meaning and purpose in the workplace. He said this paper addresses the pressures and expectations that can come with work that a person may feel called to do. That makes it applicable beyond just higher education settings. 

“This work relates to what our team describes as the ‘dark side’ of calling – negative outcomes that sometimes result from pursuing meaningful work,” he said. “In the future, we hope to examine the role of different demographic variables and their tangible impacts on hiring, promotions and student engagement – especially for early career faculty or those from marginalized groups that are already vulnerable to bias.”