Tarnished Triumphs - New Study Looks at the Emotionally Corrosive Effect of Impostor Syndrome

MONTREAL, Quebec, Dec. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On one end of the humility spectrum, there's the braggers. It doesn't matter if all they've done is fry an egg without burning it - the entire world must know of their accomplishments. Next, there's the humble-braggers. They think they're being modest when they insist that they don't understand why they received an award, why they got into the most prestigious university, or why they keep getting hit on, but in reality, they're fishing for compliments. The truly humble seek neither praise nor reward, and wouldn't care if not a single soul knew of their accomplishments. But the humility spectrum doesn't end there. People who struggle with Impostor Syndrome, take humbleness to a distorted extreme. Not only do they significantly minimize their accomplishments, they also see themselves as frauds, and undeserving of any recognition. Unfortunately, according to a recent study conducted by Queendom.com, low self-esteem isn't the only baggage these "impostors" carry with them.

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Analyzing data from 12,259 people who took the Emotional Intelligence Test, researchers at Queendom compared the scores of people who struggle with Impostor Syndrome to those who don't on a number of EQ traits. Here's where the two groups differed: (Note: Average scores are reported below, with the scores ranging from 0 to 100)

SELF-ESTEEM

• Score for high IS group: 23
• Score for low IS group: 85

SELF-CONFIDENCE

• Score for high IS group: 36
• Score for low IS group: 73

ASSERTIVENESS

• Score for high IS group: 30
• Score for low IS group: 65

DESIRE FOR APPROVAL

• Score for high IS group: 65
• Score for low IS group: 28

CONTENTMENT

• Score for high IS group: 31
• Score for low IS group: 74

POSITIVE MINDSET

• Score for high IS group: 39
• Score for low IS group: 76

RESILIENCE

• Score for high IS group: 48
• Score for low IS group: 81

SELF-MOTIVATION

• Score for high IS group: 34
• Score for low IS group: 75

SELF-AWARENESS

• Score for high IS group: 42
• Score for low IS group: 76

COMFORT WITH EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

• Score for high IS group: 32
• Score for low IS group: 60

COMFORT WITH EMOTIONAL SITUATIONS OR EMOTIONAL PEOPLE

• Score for high IS group: 34
• Score for low IS group: 66

"People who struggle with Impostor Syndrome are unable to enjoy their successes, no matter how amazing their accomplishments are," explains Dr. Jerabek, president of PsychTests, the parent company of Queendom. "They consider themselves frauds, and are terrified that other people will soon discover their 'dirty little secret'. This isn't necessarily because they really did lie and cheat their way to the top. Rather, victims of Impostor Syndrome genuinely believe that their success is the result of external and uncontrollable factors, like luck, or simply being at the right place at the right time. They discount the influence of their abilities, their intelligence, their persistence, and effort. As a result, their achievements feel tarnished. And as our study has revealed, people with IS are not only plagued by deep-rooted insecurities and self-esteem issues, they are also less confident, assertive, motivated, resilient, and happy than people who don't have IS. What's disconcerting is that among the people in our sample who have Impostor Syndrome, 61% are women, with 83% of them being under the age of 30. So it's not just women in high-ranking positions who are grappling with this, it's also young girls who are unable to see how amazing and special they are."

Want to assess your EQ? Check out our Emotional Intelligence Test at https://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=3978

Professional users, such as therapists and coaches, can request a free demo for this or other assessments from ARCH Profile's extensive battery: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

To learn more about psychological testing, download this free eBook: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/personality-tests-in-hr

About PsychTests AIM Inc.

PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts (see ARCHProfile.com). The company's research division, Plumeus Inc., is supported in part by Research and Development Tax Credit awarded by Industry Canada.

 

SOURCE Queendom.com