Impostor fears and perfectionistic concern over mistakes

Impostors are outwardly successful individuals who experience secret intens e feelings of fraudulence in achievement situations. Elements of perfection ism are evident in a tendency on the part of impostors to maintain high sta ndards for personal evaluation while being critical of their inability to r ealise these standards. This study utilised a 2 (impostor status: high, low ) x 2 (task type: high vs, low frequency of mistakes) between-subjects fact orial design to investigate the connection between impostor fears and perfe ctionistic concern over mistakes. Sixty undergraduate students completed ei ther a high or low frequency of mistake Stroop Colour-Word task, following which they completed items assessing perceptions of their performance, conc ern over mistakes, perceptions of control and anxiety, the Positive and Neg ative Affect Scale and the Russell Causal Dimension Scale. Links with perfe ctionistic concern over mistakes and anxiety were strongly supported, with impostors reporting less control, greater anxiety, more negative affect and greater concern over mistakes than non-impostors irrespective of experimen tal condition. The roles of anxiety and perfectionist cognitions in the mai ntenance of impostor fears are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al l rights reserved.