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Cited by 48Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety StudiesStudent Stress and CopingEducation, Achievement, and Giftedness

The Role of Social Influence in Anxiety and the Imposter Phenomenon

Open access
Fraenza, Christy·2016·Online Learning
DOI 10.24059/olj.v20i2.618
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Abstract

High anxiety levels have been associated with high levels of the imposter phenomenon (IP), a negative experience of feeling like a fraud. This study was designed to explore IP among graduate students and to determine whether a difference exists between online graduate students and traditional graduate students. The theoretical foundation of this study was social influence, which holds that students may feel pressured in a traditional setting because of the social cues of peers and instructors, as well as institutional norms. This quantitative study used a between-subjects design to compare 2 independent samples (115 online students & 105 traditional students). The study used a cross-sectional survey design, with 4 different measures: the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale, and a basic demographic survey. Results indicated that traditional graduate students had significantly higher IP scores than online graduate students. Results also indicated a significant, positive relationship between IP scores and anxiety scores. Regression analysis indicated that perfectionism was the most influential predictor of IP scores, followed by anxiety and program type. Because the scale used in this study explored socially prescribed perfectionism, the results appear to suggest an underlying social component to IP.

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  • Anxiety sensitivity plays a significant role in amplifying the experience of IP.

    “Anxiety sensitivity, the fear of anxiety-related sensations due to beliefs that they signal harmful physical, cognitive, or social outcomes, plays a significant role in amplifying the experience of IP [18].”

    From The Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Internalized Shame, Fear of Success, and Anxiety Sensitivity in Nursing With Imposter (2025) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Additional Analysis reports that anxiety was a statistically significant predictor of IP scores, and Research Question 2 finds a positive correlation between anxiety and IP. The study measured anxiety symptoms, not anxiety sensitivity—the fear of anxiety-related sensations—and its findings do not establish that sensitivity amplifies IP. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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3 of the 72 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. Bernard, N.S., Dollinger, S.J., & Ramaniah, N.V. (2002). Applying the big five personality factors to the imposter phenomenon. Journal of Personality Assessment, 78(2), 321-333.
  2. Byrnes, K., & Lester, D. (1995). The imposter phenomenon in teachers and accountants [Abstract]. Psychological Reports, 77(1), 350.
  3. Cromwell, B., Brown, N., Sanchez-Huceles, J., & Adair, F. (1990). The imposter phenomenon and personality characteristics of high school honor students. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 5(6), 563-573.
  4. Fogg, P. (2009). Grad-school blues. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(24), 12-16.
  5. Goethals, G.R. (2003). A century of social psychology: Individuals, ideas, and investigations. In M.A. Hogg, & J. Cooper (Eds.), The Sage handbook of social psychology (pp. 4-24). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Doi: 10.4135/978-1-84860-822-1. · DOI
  6. Harvey, J.C. (1981). The imposter phenomenon and achievement: A failure to internalize success. Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University. Retrieved from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. (Publication No. AAT 8210500).
  7. Ioakimidis, M. (2010). Home sweet home: Precluding two sources of academic stress in higher education through distance/e-learning. Georgian Electronic Scientific Journal: Education Science and Psychology, 2(17), 29-39.
  8. Ives, S.K. (2010). The impact of an online orientation program on the imposter phenomenon, self- efficacy, and anxiety (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (AAT 3433523).
  9. McGregor, L., Gee, D., & Posey, K. (2008). I feel like a fraud and it depresses me: The relation between the imposer phenomenon and depression. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 36(1), 43-48.
  10. Rhodewalt, F. (1990). Self-handicappers: Individual differences in the preference for anticipatory, self-protective acts. Self-handicapping: The paradox that isn't (pp. 69-106). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
  11. Tolunay, A. (2005). Group identify effects on social influence (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (AAT 3186924).
  12. Topping, M., & Kimmel, E. (1985). The imposter phenomenon: Feeling phony [Abstract]. Academic Psychology Bulletin, 7(2), 213-226.
  13. Zung, W.W.K. (1971). A rating instrument for anxiety. Psychosomatics, 12(6), 371-379

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Authors
Fraenza, C.
Corresponding author
Fraenza, Christy
ORCID
Fraenza, Christy
Venue
Online Learning
Publisher
The Online Learning Consortium
Published
2016-05-16
Volume
20
Issue
2
ISSN
  • 1092-8235 (ISSN-L)
  • 2472-5730
  • 2472-5749
DOI
10.24059/olj.v20i2.618
OpenAlex
W2566889083
Cited by
47
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2016: 1
FWCI
2.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Online Learning (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
Keywords
imposter phenomenon, anxiety, social influence, graduate students, traditional students, perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, self-presentation, peer pressure, institutional norms

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