The Urgency of Impostor Phenomenon in Educational Institutions

The impostor phenomenon is a unique phenomenon that occurs in high achieving individuals. The impostor phenomenon can affect a person's psychological well-being, such as work, academics, interpersonal relationships


INTRODUCTION
The impostor phenomenon is a unique phenomenon that occurs in high-achieving individuals.This phenomenon is also referred to as intellectual fraud.The phenomenon was first identified by Clance and Imes in female students and working women.Individuals experiencing the impostor phenomenon feel they have "deceived" others about their abilities and intelligence.They believe that they are not as competent or intelligent as they appear and attribute their success to luck, errors in judgment, favorable appearances, or the influence of others (Chakraverty, 2020).
The feeling of being an intellectual impostor refers to how individuals, either deliberately or inadvertently, deceive others into thinking they are as intelligent or successful as others perceive them to be (Enget et al., 2020).Individuals experiencing the impostor phenomenon are motivated in an academic context to appear smart (performance goal), and when facing difficulties in the learning process, they become anxious, filled with shame, and highly concerned with others' evaluations (Bynum et al., 2019).
It is not only academics who experience the impostor phenomenon; 70% of all people have experienced the impostor phenomenon at some point in their lives (Chandra et al., 2019).Several external studies have also detailed that students, in particular, frequently experience the impostor phenomenon.Among university students, the impostor phenomenon can lead to a lack of self-confidence, affect the development of academic identity, reduce research productivity, and diminish the ability to perform expected tasks (Hutchins & Rainbolt, 2017;Knights & Clarke, 2014).
The main factor contributing to the emergence of the impostor phenomenon among university students is academic demands (Ati et al., 2015).These high academic demands cause students to become anxious during the process of completing their work.Students experiencing the impostor phenomenon tend to strive for the best possible results, leading to pressure to achieve this.For individuals with impostor feelings, the desire to appear exceptional and special in the eyes of others becomes a significant burden.This feeling exacerbates their anxiety.
Based on the above explanations, it is important to address the impostor phenomenon within educational institutions, particularly among university students.This aligns with recommendations from previous research, which suggests the need to explore whether individuals involved in academia experience similar stress due to the impostor phenomenon (Chakraverty, 2020).Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the impostor phenomenon among university students.

METHOD
This research employs a literature review method, utilizing various national and international journals, as well as books, that are relevant to formulating and addressing

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Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta the objectives of this article.A literature review is a systematic process that involves searching for, collecting, and critically analyzing various written sources.Its aim is to understand, evaluate, and synthesize information from existing literature to support research, restructure theory, or provide deeper insights into the topic under investigation.
The steps in conducting this research include establishing search criteria, collecting and selecting data, and systematically presenting the data in line with the objectives of the article.The literature was selected based on the following criteria: (1) data from the last 16 years, and (2) data related to the "impostor phenomenon, students, guidance, and counseling."During the data selection process, the researcher utilized databases such as Google Scholar, Mendeley, Science Direct, Springer, APJII, and online thesis databases, as well as books.Based on these criteria, nine pieces of literature were chosen to be understood, evaluated, and synthesized into information that aligns with the research objectives.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Data collection involved searching for articles, book chapters, and theses using various databases such as Science Direct, Psyc Info, Sage, Taylor & Francis, and The Online Thesis database.The search resulted in nine primary pieces of literature related to the study of the impostor phenomenon among students.The findings from these literature sources are explained as follows: Tabel 1.Based on the literature above, it can be concluded that students often experience the impostor phenomenon.The level of impostor phenomenon among students generally falls into the "moderate" and "high" categories.The causes of the impostor phenomenon among students are academic demands.The higher the educational level, the more challenging the academic process becomes.Additionally, increased competitiveness and self-comparison with other students are triggering factors for the impostor phenomenon (Ati et al., 2015).Students with high academic achievements tend to have high levels of anxiety and fear of disappointing others.Self-doubt is also experienced by students when they achieve success (Maryam, 2023).
Students in developmental tasks should ideally have high self-acceptance and selfesteem in their abilities and intelligence.Accepting oneself and having confidence in one's abilities (Yusuf, 2019), as well as fulfilling the need for self-esteem in the academic field (Sternberg, 1995), are developmental tasks that students need to optimize.Selfesteem can be understood as how individuals assess themselves as capable, significant, valuable, and competent (Hastuti, 2016).Therefore, it is expected that students have high self-esteem in their abilities and intelligence.
However in reality students have low self-esteem, which then leads to the impostor phenomenon.The impostor phenomenon grows when someone has low self-esteem (Granieri et al., 2021;Harvey, 1981;Sonnak & Towell, 2001;Steinberg, 1987;Topping & Kimmel, 1985).The causes of students experiencing the impostor phenomenon are due to the pressure, demands, and perceived competition.High academic demands make students compete to be the best.Achieving high grades and educational levels are evidence of competition among students in the educational world (Hartmann et al., 2005).
The impostor phenomenon also arises due to increasing demands for selfcompetence, inconsistent social support, negative stigma related to failure, and the presence of highly competitive and pressure-filled academic comparisons and competition (Hutchins, 2015;Jöstl et al., 2012).Impostor individuals will continue to

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Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta strive for success even though doubts about their abilities continue to emerge.Because failing to face tasks would be more embarrassing for themselves and others (Thompson et al., 2000).With the multitude of pressures, demands, and competition in higher education, doubts about competence are created despite the existence of tangible achievements (Clance & Imes, 1978).The impostor phenomenon is not a classification of diagnosis but rather a group of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that come together to create this phenomenon and have a significant impact.The impostor phenomenon affects emotional functioning, involving feelings of anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and frustration due to the thoughts and behaviors generated (Orbé-Austin & Orbé-Austin, 2020).The impostor phenomenon experiences primary dysfunction, namely (a) strong negative emotions and difficulty in regulating emotional self, (b) negative thoughts about oneself, (c) having the wrong approach in adapting to challenges and risks, (d) building a good self-image to outsiders, and (e) disliking praise and criticism from others (Hunt, 2020).
Individuals experiencing the impostor phenomenon are often energetic, intelligent, and hardworking (Thompson et al., 2000).However, they usually fear failure, lack confidence that others perceive them as capable, and feel guilty about their successes (Chakraverty, 2020).Individuals experiencing the impostor phenomenon also tend to want to be the best and will feel very ashamed if they fail to achieve it (Patzak et al., 2017), so these feelings can cause stress and lead to task delay (procrastination).
Another psychological impact felt by impostor individuals is the pressure to meet others' expectations of themselves, worrying about the possibility of being embarrassed and considered worthless by others when facing failure, and the fear of failure potentially resulting in psychological disturbances such as anxiety disorders, self-doubt, frustration, decreased self-confidence, and depressive symptoms (Badawy et al., 2018).Other research reports that the impostor phenomenon is positively related to anxiety (Addae-Konadu et al., 2022), and stress (Rohrmann et al., 2016).This means that the impostor phenomenon can have negative impacts on an individual's life.
While the impostor phenomenon is not specifically classified in clinical diagnoses of mental disorders, this phenomenon needs special attention and handling given the psychological symptoms it causes that affect individual mental health (Addae-Konadu et al., 2022).Therefore, external interventions are needed to educate about the impact of the impostor phenomenon and help reduce the negative effects that arise in impostors (McWilliams et al., 2023).The provision of cognitive restructuring techniques is one of the recommended interventions to help address impostor phenomenon issues (Rohrmann et al., 2016).

CONCLUSION
The impostor phenomenon is a unique phenomenon that can affect student groups.Based on the literature review, students generally often experience the impostor phenomenon at the "moderate" and "high" levels.The causes of the impostor phenomenon among students are academic demands.Students experiencing the impostor phenomenon tend to want to be the best and will feel very ashamed if they fail to achieve it, thus causing anxiety and stress.Therefore, counselor intervention is necessary to address this issue.Counselors need to educate about the impact of the impostor phenomenon and reduce the negative effects that arise in impostors.The provision of cognitive restructuring techniques is recommended to help address impostor phenomenon issues.

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Literature Related To The Study Of The Impostor Phenomenon Among Students