The impostor phenomenon

The impostor phenomenon (impostor syndrome) means the sense of intellectual falseness that exists among people who experience a discrepancy between their own attitude towards their achievements and the evaluation of these achievements by other people. Impostors attribute their success to factors such as hard work, good fortune, lucky chance, personal charm, computer error, or beneficial contacts. The purpose of this article is to analysis and review IP, which has been less studied in Iran. This is a review-analytical study. Data were collected by studying existing theoretical and research documents and searching valid databases. Definitions and characteristics of IP, prevalence, factors affecting it, effects of age, its consequences, people at risk, clinical examples and interventions to reduce this phenomenon are issues that have been studied. IP has a high prevalence in students and has harmful consequences on their performance; Based on this, it can be said that knowing the impostor phenomenon can be useful for researchers to think deeply, meditate on the problems of impostors and their psychotherapy process, and provide appropriate services in schools and universities.