RESEARCH_FILE
Pauline Rose Clance
Georgia State University
Known for:Naming the impostor phenomenon and developing the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“They'll find out I'm a fraud”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I keep the receipts. The record shows I delivered.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
For the next 8 minutes, make a private “proof list” on paper or in a notes app: three specific things you completed, clarified, corrected, or carried today. Keep it factual, not flattering.
Key findings
- 1978
High-achieving women in a clinical sample of over 150 persisted in an 'internal experience of intellectual phoniness' — believing they had fooled anyone who thought them intelligent — despite earned degrees, honors and professional recognition. The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention ↗
- 1985
The 20-item Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale operationalized the construct around fearing evaluation, discounting praise, and attributing success to luck — and it remains the field's most widely used and best-validated measure. The Impostor Phenomenon: When Success Makes You Feel Like a Fake ↗
- 1985
Clance described the 'impostor cycle': anxiety before an achievement task drives over-preparation or procrastination; when success follows, it is credited to effort or luck rather than ability, so the underlying self-doubt survives to start the next loop. The Impostor Phenomenon: When Success Makes You Feel Like a Fake ↗