欧美人文风情第373篇: 什么是冒名顶替症候群?

 Even after writing 11 books and winning several prestigious¹ awards, 尽管写了 11 本书并多次赢得知名奖项，

Maya Angelou couldn't escape the nagging² doubt that she hadn't really earned her accomplishments⁴. 马雅·安杰洛依然无法摆脱恼人的自我怀疑感，总认为那些赢得的成就她实在是当之有愧。

Albert Einstein experienced something similar. 爱因斯坦也有类似感受。

He described himself as an "involuntary swindler" whose work didn't deserve as much attention as it had received. 他形容自己是‘无意识的骗子’，认为自己的成果其实不值得那么多关注。

Accomplishments at the level of Angelou's or Einstein's are rare, but their feeling of fraudulence is extremely common. 安杰洛和爱因斯坦成就非凡，很少人能与之并肩，但他们体会到的冒名欺骗感却相当普遍。

Why can't so many of us shake feelings that we haven't earned our accomplishments or that our ideas and skills aren't worthy⁵ of others' attention? 为什么我们这么多人会无法摆脱这样的感觉：认为自己担不起所获得的成就，或认为我们的想法和技术不值一顾呢？

Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance was the first to study this unwarranted sense of insecurity. 最早研究这种没来由的安全感的是心理学家 Pauline Rose Clance。

In her work as a therapist, she noticed many of her undergraduate patients shared a concern: 她在作为一名治疗师时，发现她的许多大学生病人都有着相同担忧：

Though they had high grades, they didn't believe they deserved their spots at the university. 尽管他们成绩优异，却不相信自己值得进大学就读。

Some even believed their acceptance had been an admissions error. 有些人甚至认为他们之所以录取是因为行政疏失。

While Clance knew these fears were unfounded, she could also remember feeling the exact same way in the graduate school. 虽然 Clance 知道这些担忧都是没有根据的，却还是记得她读研究所时也有过完全一样的感受。

She and her patients experienced something that goes by a number of names—imposter phenomenon, imposter experience, and imposter syndrome⁶. 她跟她的病人所经历的感受有很多称呼－－冒名顶替现象、冒名顶替感受，及冒名顶替症候群。

Together with colleague Suzanne Imes, Clance first studied imposterism in female college students and faculty⁷. Clance 跟她的同事 Suzanne Imes 合作，首先研究女大学生和教职员的冒名顶替状态。

Their work established pervasive⁸ feelings of fraudulence in this group. 他们的研究成果确立了在这个群体中，冒名欺骗感相当普遍。

Since that first study, the same thing has been established across gender⁹, race, age, and a huge range of occupations, 在那第一份研究之后，同样的冒名欺骗感也在不同性别、种族、年龄，以及广泛职业中确立，

though it may be more prevalent and disproportionately affect the experiences of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups. 尽管这种欺骗感可能在一些代表性不足或弱势族群中更为普及，且影响力不成比例地高。

To call it a syndrome is to downplay how universal it is. It's not a disease or an abnormality, 将这种欺骗感称作症候群，其实低估了它的普遍程度。它不是一种疾病或异常，

and it isn't necessarily tied to depression, anxiety, or self-esteem. Where do these feelings of fraudulence come from? 也不必然会跟忧郁、焦虑、或自尊有关。这种欺骗感是怎么来的呢？

People who are highly skilled or accomplished¹⁰ tend to think others are just as skilled. 技术精湛或成就卓越的人倾向认为其他人能力也那么好。

This can spiral into feelings that they don't deserve accolades¹¹ and opportunities over other people. 这让他们陷入一种感觉，认为他们并不比其他人更值得获得赞美和机会。

And as Angelou and Einstein experienced, there's often no threshold of accomplishment³ that puts these feelings to rest. 而如同安杰洛和爱因斯坦经历到的，这种冒名欺骗感并不会因成就达到某种高度而平息。

Feelings of imposterism aren't restricted to highly skilled individuals, either. 此外，冒名顶替感也不局限在能力好的人。

Everyone is susceptible¹² to a phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance, 每个人都很容易受到一种‘多数人的无知’现象所影响 ，

where we each doubt ourselves privately¹³ but believe we're alone in thinking that way because no one else voices their doubts. 私底下自己怀疑自己，却以为只有自己这么想，因为没有其他人说出他们的自我怀疑。

Since it's tough to really know how hard our peers work, how difficult they find certain tasks, or how much they doubt themselves, 因为我们很难真正知道我们同侪到底付出多少努力、到底认为某个工作多难、或到底多么怀疑自己，

there's no easy way to dismiss feelings that we're less capable than the people around us. 所以没有一种方法能轻易消除这种不如旁人的感受。

Intense feelings of imposterism can prevent people from sharing their great ideas or applying for jobs and programs where they'd excel. 强烈冒名顶替感可能会让人不愿去分享好的想法，或不敢去申请能有突出表现的工作或计划。

At least so far, the most surefire way to combat imposter syndrome is to talk about it. 至少目前为止，要对抗冒名顶替症候群，最有可能成功的方法是将这种感觉说出来。

Many people suffering from imposter syndrome are afraid that if they ask about their performance, their fears will be confirmed. 许多深受冒名顶替症候群困扰的人，害怕如果询问别人他们表现如何，他们的担忧就会被证实。

And even when they receive positive feedback, it often fails to ease feelings of fraudulence. 而且即使他们得到正面回馈，也经常无法减轻冒名欺骗感。

But on the other hand, hearing that an advisor¹⁴ or mentor¹⁵ has experienced feelings of imposterism can help relieve those feelings. 但另一方面，当他们听到指导者或导师也曾有过这种冒名顶替感，心情却能得到舒缓。

The same goes for peers. Even simply finding out there's a term for these feelings can be an incredible relief. 听到同侪这么说也一样有帮助。就连单纯知道这种感受有个名称，都能让人释怀不少。

Once you're aware of the phenomenon, you can combat your own imposter syndrome by collecting and revisiting positive feedback. 一旦意识到这种现象，你就可以透过取得或重新检视正面回馈来对抗自己的冒名顶替症候群。

One scientist who kept blaming herself for problems in her lab started to document the causes every time something went wrong. 有位科学家曾因实验室的问题而不断责怪自己，后来她开始纪录每次事情出错时原因。

Eventually, she realized most of the problems came from equipment failure and came to recognize her own competence¹⁶. 最后，她了解到大多数的问题都来自设备故障，进而认可自己的能力。

We may never be able to banish¹⁷ these feelings entirely¹⁸, but we can have open conversations about academic or professional challenges. 我们可能永远无法完全抹去这种感受，但我们可以开启对话，讨论学术或专业领域上的挑战。

With increasing awareness¹⁹ of how common these experiences are, 当越来越多人意识到这些感受其实相当普遍，

perhaps we can feel freer to be frank about our feelings and build confidence in some simple truths: 也许我们就能更自在而坦然地面对自我感受、建立自信并接受一些简单事实：

You have talent, you are capable, and you belong. 你有天赋、你有能力，而且你当之无愧。

 

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

4 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

7 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

8 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

11 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

12 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

13 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

16 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

17 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

18 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

19 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。