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Impostor Phenomenon Among Hispanic/Latino Early Career Researchers in STEM Fields

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Impostor phenomenon (IP) is an experience of psychological discomfort where some high-achieving people disbelieve their success. Devasmita Chakraverty discusses how early career researchers or ECRs of Hispanic/Latino origin in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields described ethnicity-based experiences of IP.

Image courtesy of interviewee. July 31, 2024

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This video is a transcription of a discussion about a study on the imposter phenomenon among Hispanic and Latino early-career researchers in the STEM fields. The conversation begins by defining the imposter phenomenon, which involves successful individuals doubting their abilities and fearing that they will be exposed as frauds, attributing their success to external factors rather than their own competence.

The context and motivation behind the study are explained, noting that most prior research has primarily focused on white populations in the U.S., leading to a gap in understanding the experiences of individuals from other racial and ethnic backgrounds, particularly Hispanic and Latino communities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of exploring different narratives based on the diverse experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities in relation to the imposter phenomenon.

The methodology used in the study involved qualitative interviews with early-career researchers who identified as Latino or Hispanic. The participants were involved in a larger study that initially collected survey data, followed by in-depth interviews exploring their experiences with imposter feelings related to their ethnic identity.

Five key themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of interviews:

1. **Family Background**: Many participants came from first-generation immigrant families that lacked academic exposure, leading to feelings of inadequacy.
2. **Observable Traits vs. Ethnic Identity**: Mixed-background individuals often faced challenges related to their appearance and the perceptions of their ethnic identity, causing them to feel the need to defend their identity.
3. **Language and Communication**: Participants experienced barriers due to language proficiency, accent, and cultural references, which affected their confidence and sense of belonging.
4. **Being Viewed as Diversity Enhancers**: Many felt their presence in departments was more about fulfilling diversity quotas rather than being valued for their academic contributions.
5. **Loneliness and Isolation**: Participants reported feelings of isolation within their academic environments, lacking mentorship and community support from those with similar backgrounds.

The discussion concludes with implications for future research, stressing the need to focus on specific marginalized groups and their unique experiences, highlighting the significance of the environmental factors that contribute to imposter feelings. This video includes addressing issues like discrimination, sexual harassment, and microaggressions that disproportionately affect women of color in STEM. The speaker advocates for more qualitative studies to capture the complexities of racial and ethnic identities within academic settings.

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Here are some key quotes extracted from the video:

1. **Imposter Phenomenon**: "It's a very interesting phenomenon where...some very successful people do not believe in the very success that's made them go achieve what they have."

2. **Mental Baggage**: "These people live in a constant doubt and fear that they are going to be outed... as fraud."

3. **External Factors**: "When successful people do not believe in the very success that they have, they feel that their success is not because of their competence or hard work."

4. **Research Gaps**: "I wondered if I were to ask people who feel like imposters, who come from... the B-I-P-O-C... would they be talking about the same experiences?"

5. **Study Convideo**: "In social science research, convideo is very important."

6. **Focus on Hispanic Groups**: "I thought that I should specifically focus on Hispanic or Latino populations and see what kind of things are going on."

7. **Qualitative vs. Quantitative Studies**: "There were other gaps, like way more focus on quantitative studies than qualitative studies."

8. **Access vs. Merit**: "It's not just about merit. We often tend to think that people who are more meritocratic succeed, but it's also people who have more access, who succeed."

9. **Identity Conflict**: "There's a constant conflict between their personal identity, who they are, where they come from, and the identity that you hold as a scientist."

10. **Feeling Like an Imposter**: "Being counted when it suits the department and not being counted when it doesn't suit the department."

11. **Isolation Experience**: "When you are in a space where you do not see anyone who looks like you... that led to a lot of isolation."

12. **Environmental Influence**: "What was most interesting here is if you look at other studies that look at predominantly white populations, those experiences are very generic to those groups."

13. **Role of Environment**: "What it completely disregarded was the environment, what role the environment plays."

14. **Need for More Qualitative Research**: "Doing more qualitative studies where you go deeper into those experiences."

These quotes encapsulate the main themes and findings discussed throughout the video, particularly focusing on the imposter phenomenon, identity conflicts, and the importance of qualitative research in understanding the experiences of underrepresented groups in science.

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Here are some articles that may have similar themes and content related to the imposter phenomenon, especially focusing on Hispanic and Latino individuals in STEM, as well as broader topics of diversity, inclusion, and the experiences of marginalized groups in academia:

1. **"The Imposter Phenomenon Among Minority College Students: A Study of the Effect of Ethnic Identity"** - This article explores how the imposter phenomenon affects minority college students and examines the role of ethnic identity in influencing their experiences and self-perception.

2. **"Identities in the Pipeline: The Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in STEM"** - This research discusses how racial and ethnic identities impact the retention and experiences of underrepresented groups in STEM fields, highlighting the importance of understanding various narratives within these communities.

3. **"Cultural Identity and the Imposter Experience: Impact on Academic Performance"** - This article investigates the correlation between cultural identity, experiences of the imposter phenomenon, and academic performance among diverse student populations.

4. **"Mentorship and the STEM Pipeline: Experiences of Underrepresented Minority Graduate Students"** - This study focuses on the significance of mentorship for underrepresented minorities in STEM, analyzing how mentorship can mitigate feelings of isolation and imposterism.

5. **"The Role of Support Networks in Reducing Imposter Feelings Among Minority Students in STEM Fields"** - This research examines how community support, peer networks, and mentorship can help alleviate imposter feelings among minority students and improve their overall academic experience.

6. **"Exploring Microaggressions and Their Impact on STEM Students of Color"** - This article delves into the experiences of students of color in STEM, looking at how microaggressions and other forms of subtle discrimination contribute to feelings of inadequacy and isolation.

7. **"A Qualitative Investigation of Imposter Syndrome in Underrepresented Minorities in Higher Education"** - This paper presents qualitative findings on how imposter syndrome manifests in underrepresented minorities, emphasizing the unique factors affecting their experiences.

These articles can provide further insights into the experiences of minority individuals in academia, particularly in STEM fields, and the broader implications of the imposter phenomenon in relation to identity and belonging.

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It's a very interesting phenomenon where, some,

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not all, but some very successful people

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do not believe in the very success

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that's made them go achieve what they have.

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So these people live in a constant doubt

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and fear that they are going to be outed.

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They are going to be found out as fraud.

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And that's a lot of mental baggage to deal with.

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And that is what the imposter phenomenon is.

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When successful people do not believe in the very success

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that they have, they feel that their success is not

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because of their competence or hard work.

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Uh, it's either because they have connections or

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because of God or because someone was being nice to them.

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So all other external factors that's not related

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to their own competence, that is the imposter phenomenon.

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Now, if you did a historical analysis of

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how the research has evolved in the field in the last 40

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or more than 40, 45 years, there's been a lot

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of research recently in the last five years,

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five or eight years.

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But most of the studies so far have been done extensively,

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mostly in the US

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and also among predominantly white populations.

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Uh, now I would say

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that those populations were chosen on purpose,

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but just that people who are white who identify

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as white participated in the study.

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Now, you know, in social science research,

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context is very important.

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Uh, the big question I had is, is this something

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that's specific to a predominantly white population?

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Now, what I found is that a lot of the narratives

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that came out of these studies also were,

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a little bit more generic,

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but they did not cover naturally any race based,

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any ethnicity based connotations.

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And that's what inspired me to do this work.

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I wondered if I were to ask people who feel like imposters,

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who come from what we know as the B-I-P-O-C,

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the bipoc communities, the black, indigenous

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and people of color, would they be talking about the

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same experiences?

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Same reasons as the white people do,

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but most of the work, I mean, I would say 90%, 95%

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of the literature focuses on white populations,

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predominantly white population.

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Now, I mean, looking at the literature,

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I would say there are three kinds of studies.

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In the first group. Uh, there is a minor population

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of bipoc individuals.

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Um, but that's accidental.

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That's because let's say they did a survey

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for all people in the college or in the university,

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and some of them happen to be black or identify as Hispanic.

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So the findings are not specific to,

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their life experiences.

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That's the first category that they just happen

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to be accidentally between, let's say 3%

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to 18% of the population.

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The second group of studies are specific to minority groups,

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but not Hispanic groups.

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So it could be black people, native Americans,

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and I'm saying this from a very US perspective.

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So again, Hispanic people could be accidentally intruded,

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but the findings are not always specific to Hispanic groups.

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What I found were there were only two dissertations.

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Not, there were only two dissertations

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that specifically looked at Hispanic groups.

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And that's when, I thought

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that I should specifically focus on Hispanic

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or Latino populations

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and see what kind of things are going on, what kind

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of life experiences they're talking about.

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Uh, so there was a huge gap in the literature.

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And of course, there were other gaps,

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like way more focus on quantitative studies

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than qualitative studies.

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The other thing was, the, the focus on, I mean, this,

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work of mind focuses on early career researchers.

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Now, what do I mean in this context?

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That either PhD students

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or post doctorates, typically people who are

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within 10 years of finishing their PhD,

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that's the group I have focused on.

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Once again, literature specifically on this group

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experiencing imposter phenomenon was not there.

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And it's essentially the population

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of the group

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and what career stage they are in, as well

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as the methodology, qualitative methodology.

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This is a part of a much larger study, where I

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surveyed hundreds of people across the United States.

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Uh, literally the only, I mean, not the only,

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but some of the eligibility criteria is that they, have

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to be conversant in English.

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They have to be in the US at that time,

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not necessarily US citizens.

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And also they have to have experienced in Impost phenomenon

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because a lot of the research looked at prevalence.

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That is what is a percentage of people

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who feel like imposters.

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That was not what I wanted to do.

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I only wanted to look at people who feel like imposters

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and then go deep into their experiences.

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Now, within that, I, was lucky enough

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to find people from who, who, identified as either black

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or Latino native Americans.

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And then depending on who they are,

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I ask them very specific questions related to their,

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ethnic background.

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Now, one thing, let me clarify.

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There's a difference between race

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and ethnicity, which, I think is important to mention

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that someone could identify as Hispanic or Latino,

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but also be black or also identify as white.

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Because one thing, race is one thing, and ethnicity is one.

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Other is another thing.

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So here I'm specifically looking at people who ethnically,

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culturally who identify as Hispanic or Latino.

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Again, there's a slight difference.

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People who come from Spanish speaking backgrounds identify

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as Hispanic, but those

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who come from Latin American countries,

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generationally are Latino.

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But the the two terms are used quite

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interchangeably in the literature.

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I have used the terms that the participants identified as,

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or that the literature specifically spoke about.

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I did a survey. Uh, the survey was a quick survey, seven

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to eight minute long, where participants had

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to take a few questions from some of the existing skills,

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and they also had to describe an instance

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or two when they felt like an imposter.

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And the last question of the survey is, would you like

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to participate in an interview?

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And those who wanted to participate in an interview,

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I did an extensive 45 to one hour long interview with them.

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Uh, I specifically want, I specifically went

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to national conferences that focused on minorities,

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especially, SACNAS is one of them.

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Uh, the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Hispanics

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and Native Americans in Science.

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So I was specifically looking for people in science

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who came from, minority backgrounds.

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I specifically went to those conferences.

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I asked people to participate. I had flyers, I had posters.

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And every time I finished an interview, I asked people,

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I requested people if they can, talk about the survey,

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talk about the study in their groups so

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that more people may be interested.

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This is snowball sampling.

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I got, I used a combination of these methods.

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So I started with an interview,

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and if people wanted to do, sorry, I started with a survey.

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And after the survey, which took about eight minutes,

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if people wanted to do an interview,

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then I did an extensive interview study with them.

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So overall, I think about, 53 early career researchers

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who identified as being Latino participated,

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and said that they want to do an interview,

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but I ended up doing 29 interviews.

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The other, the rest of them, they did not,

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they did not interview.

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If you think about, the culture of science, who gets

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to do science, who gets to succeed in science,

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the typical narrative would be, I mean, the person

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who has the most likelihood of succeeding in science

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would be a white male from an upper class

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and a continuing generation family,

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which means someone whose parents have been to college

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have been to university.

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Uh, number wise, statistics wise, that's

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what I mean.

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If you look at the population of people who study science

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or who have jobs in science

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that forms most of the populations.

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Now, there are a lot of, beliefs about science

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that are very Eurocentric.

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I'll give you a few examples that science is bias free.

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That science is very objective,

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that science is individualistic,

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that science is competitive.

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Uh, and there's also a belief that,

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humans are at the top.

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They are the most intelligent, they are at the top.

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Uh, and then there's this exploitation of natural resources

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to suit human needs.

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Now, these views are not necessarily shared

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by all communities.

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If you talk to people from Native American backgrounds,

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they believe about harmonious coexistence in the nature.

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They do not believe in many of the science practices

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that would be very, mainstream in

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what we know as western science.

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Now, science is one thing, but who gets to do science?

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And we know that success is all about access.

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It's not just about merit.

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We often tend to think that people who are more meritocratic

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succeed, but it's also people

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who have more access, who succeed.

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So, thinking of identity, a lot of times

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personal identity or ethnic identity does not triangulate,

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does not, how, what should I, how should I put it,

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is not in alignment with science identity.

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Do I see myself as a scientist?

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Depends on where I come from.

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And this is not just me saying this is years

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of research has shown that people who identify as scientists

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or they're capable of becoming scientists in the future,

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it aligns with their personal identity.

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And that's, something interesting that I found

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that since, there's a lot of studies

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that talk about ethnic identity, not always in an alignment

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with science, plus the whole,

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competitive culture of science.

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I thought it would be interesting.

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Also, some numbers here would be important.

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Uh, if you look at the overall population of the us,

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about 18% of them identify as Latino.

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And this was back in 2018.

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So the number would be higher, 60 million people.

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Um, quite a large number.

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But if you look at the undergraduate level,

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it's about 13.5% people, from Latino backgrounds

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who do science, who study science.

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By the time you go up to graduate studies

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and people who hold jobs, the number goes down

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and the number goes down specifically for women.

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In fact, Latino women are the most underrepresented group

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in STEM jobs.

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Uh, the number is 1.7%.

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STEM jobs are held by Latino women, only 1.7%.

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So these numbers are important

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because as we go higher up in, in our, in the education,

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in the training, in the science jobs,

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we see fewer people from certain backgrounds.

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And that is why, it was important

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to focus on certain groups

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and see what's going on,

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what makes them feel like imposters in this case,

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that they may not be able to kind of get fully,

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what they want to do.

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In science, I found that,

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participants had from medium to high

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to very influenced imposter phenomenon.

11:59.985 --> 12:03.805
But that's also because, I only surveyed people

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who think they have the imposter phenomenon.

12:06.665 --> 12:08.925
So I specifically looked at groups who said

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that I have imposter phenomenon,

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but the numbers were quite high.

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Uh, I had a good representation from PhD students

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and postdocs, more women than men.

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But that's not surprising for two reasons.

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Number one, historically, I mean,

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more women report in poster phenomenon than men do,

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and more women also participate in the studies,

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and it's also more women

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who are not adequately represented in science.

12:34.955 --> 12:37.855
So it made sense that more women participated in the study,

12:38.975 --> 12:42.265
that that is the survey part, that from moderate to high

12:42.365 --> 12:44.225
to very intensive postal phenomenon.

12:44.645 --> 12:48.145
Now, qualitatively, when I asked them questions,

12:48.405 --> 12:52.225
and this research is specifically based on one interview

12:52.545 --> 12:55.305
question, which is what is it about your ethnic identity?

12:55.485 --> 12:57.265
What's it about your ethnic background

12:57.535 --> 12:59.345
that makes you feel like an imposter?

12:59.565 --> 13:01.385
So I was very, very specific.

13:01.505 --> 13:03.425
I mean, of course I asked other questions as well,

13:04.005 --> 13:05.665
but this particular group,

13:05.985 --> 13:09.425
I had specifically asked this question, knowing the history

13:09.605 --> 13:14.345
and background of Latino people, I found,

13:15.015 --> 13:17.465
five big overarching themes,

13:18.525 --> 13:20.345
and I'll talk about it one by one.

13:20.645 --> 13:21.705
The first same theme

13:21.705 --> 13:24.385
that was very prevalent was family background.

13:24.565 --> 13:27.985
And the first generation status, in fact, a large part

13:27.985 --> 13:30.825
of this group were first generation people.

13:31.085 --> 13:35.865
Um, I think there were about, 10 participants

13:36.175 --> 13:39.945
with the, who were not first generation.

13:40.695 --> 13:43.155
So quite a high number of first generation people.

13:43.615 --> 13:45.555
Now, what is it about the family background?

13:46.095 --> 13:50.275
Uh, people whose families are from a certain background have

13:50.275 --> 13:53.595
more access to such things, more early exposure.

13:53.935 --> 13:57.355
So physician families, people whose parents are physicians,

13:57.355 --> 13:59.715
they get a very early exposure to what the field looks like.

14:00.655 --> 14:03.675
In this case, when their parents were not from science

14:03.675 --> 14:05.395
fields or they were not from academia

14:05.455 --> 14:08.035
or education, many of them did not go to school.

14:08.575 --> 14:10.715
Uh, they did not have the know-how,

14:10.735 --> 14:12.795
but also the early life aspiration

14:12.825 --> 14:14.475
that I can become a scientist.

14:15.095 --> 14:17.995
Uh, I mean, I would think I can become a scientist if I see

14:17.995 --> 14:21.855
people around me either being scientist

14:21.915 --> 14:23.415
or wanting to be a scientist.

14:24.235 --> 14:27.455
Um, it also reflected on the encouragement they got from

14:27.455 --> 14:28.855
their families or did not get.

14:29.335 --> 14:32.535
A lot of times families did not understand why they had

14:32.535 --> 14:36.695
to study, why they had to go to Uni University, why they had

14:36.695 --> 14:37.855
to become scientists.

14:38.435 --> 14:41.455
Uh, some parents said, once you are a scientist,

14:41.705 --> 14:43.815
it'll be good because you'll have a high paying job

14:43.915 --> 14:45.175
and you can fix our house

14:45.275 --> 14:46.935
and you can do this and that and that.

14:46.995 --> 14:49.935
So it was nothing related to the science itself

14:50.725 --> 14:52.405
that came out as a big feel.

14:52.485 --> 14:54.925
I think almost all of them talked about,

14:54.925 --> 14:56.885
coming from certain family backgrounds

14:57.115 --> 14:58.925
that made them feel like imposters.

14:58.985 --> 15:01.005
Now, why would it make them feel like an imposter?

15:01.035 --> 15:03.085
Because there was a constant tug,

15:03.085 --> 15:04.365
there was a constant conflict

15:04.365 --> 15:06.325
between their personal identity, who they are,

15:06.455 --> 15:09.965
where they come from, and the identity that you hold.

15:10.065 --> 15:12.205
As a scientist, that was a big thing.

15:13.145 --> 15:16.485
The second one was very interesting, which is a disparity

15:16.485 --> 15:18.565
between your observable traits

15:18.565 --> 15:20.725
and ethnic identity, the way you look

15:21.025 --> 15:22.245
and the way you identify.

15:22.595 --> 15:26.165
This happened a lot for, mixed background,

15:26.775 --> 15:30.405
white passing white individuals, so people who look white

15:30.435 --> 15:34.885
because of their skin color, but they identify as Hispanic.

15:35.625 --> 15:37.445
Um, so what happened over there?

15:37.865 --> 15:42.085
Uh, there were comments from outside about, the, the,

15:42.145 --> 15:44.925
the authenticity of are they really Hispanic?

15:46.015 --> 15:47.305
What was it based on?

15:47.605 --> 15:49.065
Uh, something like,

15:49.175 --> 15:51.745
your accent does not make me think like you

15:51.745 --> 15:52.785
are Hispanic enough.

15:52.925 --> 15:56.585
You have a very English accent, or you have white skin,

15:57.085 --> 15:58.425
or you are very tall,

15:58.645 --> 16:00.705
or you are blonde, you have blonde hair.

16:00.955 --> 16:03.385
Those kind of comments. So constantly being told in those

16:03.385 --> 16:07.385
spaces where they work that you are not Hispanic enough.

16:08.285 --> 16:10.945
Now, these individuals, they identify as Hispanic,

16:11.365 --> 16:14.905
but having to constantly defend why they are Hispanic.

16:15.445 --> 16:17.425
Why, because, you know, they are not short

16:17.445 --> 16:20.065
or, so there were certain stereotypical images of

16:20.165 --> 16:23.465
how people should look when they say that I am

16:24.005 --> 16:25.145
Latino or Hispanic.

16:25.205 --> 16:27.745
So having to constantly defend that space

16:28.095 --> 16:29.825
that made them feel like an imposter.

16:30.325 --> 16:34.385
The third thing that came up was, English communication,

16:34.615 --> 16:36.505
both spoken and in writing.

16:37.055 --> 16:39.185
Even accents, deviant accents

16:39.185 --> 16:43.425
because a lot of people did not originally come from the us.

16:43.535 --> 16:45.825
They were from other countries, Latin Americans, central,

16:45.825 --> 16:48.785
central American countries who moved to the us.

16:49.285 --> 16:51.745
So they didn't understand the culture fully.

16:52.205 --> 16:55.345
Uh, the popular jokes, the television, the things

16:55.345 --> 16:56.465
that people talked about.

16:56.925 --> 16:58.705
But also a lot of times the accent,

16:58.845 --> 17:03.545
the way they felt being separated because of their accent.

17:04.445 --> 17:06.185
Uh, of course, English communication,

17:06.185 --> 17:07.425
writing took a longer time.

17:07.925 --> 17:10.585
Uh, being able to express their ideas took a longer time.

17:10.925 --> 17:12.665
So that was one of the third theme.

17:13.165 --> 17:16.545
The fourth one was, a lot of times these individuals were,

17:16.965 --> 17:21.505
treated as diversity enhancers of the department.

17:22.085 --> 17:24.505
So, you know, the department looks good when we have

17:24.555 --> 17:27.425
minorities, and hence we are going to bring them in,

17:27.485 --> 17:28.745
but we are going to do nothing

17:29.125 --> 17:31.505
to make them feel integrated and included.

17:32.085 --> 17:35.145
And I remember one of the quotes someone shared,

17:35.145 --> 17:36.305
which was very interesting.

17:36.565 --> 17:39.465
She is an international student

17:40.705 --> 17:42.195
also identifying as Latino.

17:42.815 --> 17:45.875
Uh, every time the department needed

17:46.495 --> 17:50.045
to show their minority statistics, she would be counted.

17:51.065 --> 17:55.085
But every time, there was something about a fellowship

17:55.155 --> 17:58.165
that was for, Latinos, she would not be counted

17:58.165 --> 18:00.565
because she would be counted as an international student,

18:00.935 --> 18:02.605
which would make her ineligible

18:02.665 --> 18:04.005
to apply for those scholarships.

18:04.545 --> 18:07.445
So being counted when it suits the department

18:07.585 --> 18:09.965
and not being counted when it doesn't suit the department.

18:10.255 --> 18:11.965
Those examples came up a lot.

18:12.305 --> 18:15.085
And what it made people think is, do I belong here?

18:15.235 --> 18:16.245
What am I doing here?

18:16.465 --> 18:17.645
Am I just, you know,

18:17.955 --> 18:20.045
enhancing the diversity of the department.

18:20.625 --> 18:24.925
Um, recommendation letters that advisors wrote,

18:24.975 --> 18:28.365
there were many examples where the advisor would focus on

18:28.865 --> 18:30.365
how much great work they're doing

18:30.365 --> 18:33.205
because they are mentoring people of color.

18:34.105 --> 18:36.765
So they wrote nothing about the work, the scholarship,

18:36.905 --> 18:38.165
the science, the research,

18:38.585 --> 18:40.805
but the fact that they are mentoring people of color,

18:41.025 --> 18:42.085
and that's a great thing.

18:42.945 --> 18:45.325
Uh, so that was very interesting.

18:45.625 --> 18:49.725
The fifth theme was, feeling loneliness and isolation.

18:49.725 --> 18:51.965
Because when you are in a department,

18:51.965 --> 18:54.165
when you are in a space where you do not see anyone

18:54.185 --> 18:58.205
who looks like you, and research shows that,

18:59.355 --> 19:04.065
especially for people of color, if they can find mentors

19:04.205 --> 19:06.985
who also look like them or have similar life experiences,

19:07.655 --> 19:10.705
then they feel more understood.

19:11.815 --> 19:15.035
And that was absolutely not happening in this case.

19:15.175 --> 19:19.795
So often, people found that they were the only Latino

19:19.935 --> 19:22.915
or the only Latina, or the only woman,

19:23.055 --> 19:25.155
or the only woman of color in the department.

19:25.185 --> 19:26.835
That led to a lot of isolation.

19:26.935 --> 19:30.315
And also, you know how science is a very,

19:30.635 --> 19:32.955
I mean people have their own special groups

19:33.135 --> 19:34.635
and favorite groups and their

19:34.635 --> 19:35.995
cliques, they hang out together.

19:36.185 --> 19:40.435
They go for beers, they will go to conferences, have beers,

19:40.735 --> 19:43.555
and they include people who they're friends with.

19:44.055 --> 19:46.315
So what eventually happened was a lot

19:46.315 --> 19:47.515
of them were feeling isolated,

19:47.515 --> 19:49.075
especially women in this case.

19:49.585 --> 19:50.955
They would go to conferences

19:51.135 --> 19:54.435
and let's say someone would hand them their glass thinking

19:54.435 --> 19:55.555
that they are the help.

19:55.555 --> 19:58.835
They're the one who have come to clean up at the conference

19:58.955 --> 20:02.355
and not necessarily, be a participant at the conference.

20:02.655 --> 20:04.835
So these are the five themes that I found.

20:05.225 --> 20:09.235
What was most interesting here is if you look at other

20:09.235 --> 20:12.155
studies that look at predominantly white populations,

20:12.685 --> 20:16.435
those experiences are very generic to those groups.

20:17.285 --> 20:19.915
These experiences will not necessarily

20:20.025 --> 20:21.035
show up in those studies.

20:21.295 --> 20:24.795
But in this case, since I specifically chose a certain group

20:24.795 --> 20:28.635
of people, a lot of those, cultural experiences

20:29.335 --> 20:30.715
got highlighted much more.

20:30.855 --> 20:34.235
For the longest time, the imposter phenomenon was thought as

20:34.775 --> 20:35.875
an individual trait.

20:36.215 --> 20:39.435
So I as an individual feel like it, so I need

20:39.435 --> 20:40.675
to do something about it.

20:41.435 --> 20:44.795
Hmm. Uh, what it completely disregarded was the

20:44.795 --> 20:46.895
environment, what role the

20:46.945 --> 20:47.945
Environment plays.

20:48.565 --> 20:51.265
But in the last few years, studies

20:51.355 --> 20:52.585
after studies have shown

20:52.585 --> 20:54.425
that the environment plays a huge role.

20:54.825 --> 20:58.345
Specifically the kind of signals we get from the environment

20:58.475 --> 21:00.785
about do we belong, do we not belong?

21:01.285 --> 21:03.745
Uh, there's a lot of minority status stress.

21:03.845 --> 21:05.465
So the stress one experiences

21:05.465 --> 21:06.985
because of the minority status.

21:07.845 --> 21:11.945
So moving on, I think it's very important to focus on

21:12.585 --> 21:14.105
specific groups and their experiences.

21:14.325 --> 21:15.985
We have done enough of survey studies

21:16.175 --> 21:17.625
serving thousands of people.

21:18.015 --> 21:19.265
They have their own importance.

21:19.265 --> 21:20.545
They show a lot of important things,

21:20.685 --> 21:25.025
but they completely miss out on the cultural experiences,

21:25.085 --> 21:27.105
the nuances of life experiences.

21:27.605 --> 21:31.585
Um, so moving on, that would be the big thing to do,

21:31.795 --> 21:34.505
which is to look at specific groups, especially, I mean,

21:34.565 --> 21:35.905
so far I think there's only one

21:35.905 --> 21:39.505
or two studies that look at Native Americans, maybe more

21:39.655 --> 21:42.305
that look at black ex black people's experiences,

21:42.405 --> 21:45.745
but even for Hispanic people, not as many studies.

21:46.205 --> 21:48.545
So doing that, doing more qualitative studies

21:48.555 --> 21:50.785
where you go deeper into those experiences.

21:51.085 --> 21:55.185
And most importantly, look at what kind of environments,

21:55.235 --> 21:59.505
especially, I haven't spoken about, discrimination,

21:59.925 --> 22:02.225
sexual harassment, micro oppression.

22:02.865 --> 22:05.345
Research shows that women of color are more likely

22:05.365 --> 22:07.505
to experience it compared to any other group.

22:07.965 --> 22:09.705
So look at the kind of environment

22:09.935 --> 22:11.825
that make people feel like imposters.

00:00 - It's a very interesting phenomenon where, some, not all, but some very successful people do not believe in the very success that's made them go achieve what they have. So these people live in a constant doubt and fear that they are going to be outed.

00:17 - They are going to be found out as fraud. And that's a lot of mental baggage to deal with. And that is what the imposter phenomenon is. When successful people do not believe in the very success that they have, they feel that their success is not because of their competence or hard work. it's either because they have connections or because of God or because someone was being nice to them. So all other external factors that's not related to their own competence, that is the imposter phenomenon.

00:49 - Now, if you did a historical analysis of how the research has evolved in the field in the last 40 or more than 40, 45 years, there's been a lot of research recently in the last five years, five or eight years. But most of the studies so far have been done extensively, mostly in the US and also among predominantly white populations. now I would say that those populations were chosen on purpose,

01:17 - but just that people who are white who identify as white participated in the study. Now, you know, in social science research, context is very important. the big question I had is, is this something that's specific to a predominantly white population? Now, what I found is that a lot of the narratives that came out of these studies also were, a little bit more generic, but they did not cover naturally any race based,

01:50 - any ethnicity based connotations. And that's what inspired me to do this work. I wondered if I were to ask people who feel like imposters, who come from what we know as the B-I-P-O-C, the bipoc communities, the black, indigenous and people of color, would they be talking about the same experiences? Same reasons as the white people do, but most of the work, I mean, I would say 90%, 95% of the literature focuses on white populations,

02:19 - predominantly white population. Now, I mean, looking at the literature, I would say there are three kinds of studies. In the first group. there is a minor population of bipoc individuals. but that's accidental. That's because let's say they did a survey for all people in the college or in the university, and some of them happen to be black or identify as Hispanic. So the findings are not specific to,

02:47 - their life experiences. That's the first category that they just happen to be accidentally between, let's say 3% to 18% of the population. The second group of studies are specific to minority groups, but not Hispanic groups. So it could be black people, native Americans, and I'm saying this from a very US perspective. So again, Hispanic people could be accidentally intruded, but the findings are not always specific to Hispanic groups.

03:18 - What I found were there were only two dissertations. Not, there were only two dissertations that specifically looked at Hispanic groups. And that's when, I thought that I should specifically focus on Hispanic or Latino populations and see what kind of things are going on, what kind of life experiences they're talking about. so there was a huge gap in the literature. And of course, there were other gaps,

03:43 - like way more focus on quantitative studies than qualitative studies. The other thing was, the, the focus on, I mean, this, work of mind focuses on early career researchers. Now, what do I mean in this context? That either PhD students or post doctorates, typically people who are within 10 years of finishing their PhD, that's the group I have focused on. Once again, literature specifically on this group

04:10 - experiencing imposter phenomenon was not there. And it's essentially the population of the group and what career stage they are in, as well as the methodology, qualitative methodology. This is a part of a much larger study, where I surveyed hundreds of people across the United States. literally the only, I mean, not the only, but some of the eligibility criteria is that they, have to be conversant in English.

04:43 - They have to be in the US at that time, not necessarily US citizens. And also they have to have experienced in Impost phenomenon because a lot of the research looked at prevalence. That is what is a percentage of people who feel like imposters. That was not what I wanted to do. I only wanted to look at people who feel like imposters and then go deep into their experiences. Now, within that, I, was lucky enough

05:07 - to find people from who, who, identified as either black or Latino native Americans. And then depending on who they are, I ask them very specific questions related to their, ethnic background. Now, one thing, let me clarify. There's a difference between race and ethnicity, which, I think is important to mention that someone could identify as Hispanic or Latino, but also be black or also identify as white.

05:37 - Because one thing, race is one thing, and ethnicity is one. Other is another thing. So here I'm specifically looking at people who ethnically, culturally who identify as Hispanic or Latino. Again, there's a slight difference. People who come from Spanish speaking backgrounds identify as Hispanic, but those who come from Latin American countries, generationally are Latino. But the the two terms are used quite

06:05 - interchangeably in the literature. I have used the terms that the participants identified as, or that the literature specifically spoke about. I did a survey. the survey was a quick survey, seven to eight minute long, where participants had to take a few questions from some of the existing skills, and they also had to describe an instance or two when they felt like an imposter. And the last question of the survey is, would you like to participate in an interview?

06:32 - And those who wanted to participate in an interview, I did an extensive 45 to one hour long interview with them. I specifically want, I specifically went to national conferences that focused on minorities, especially, SACNAS is one of them. the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. So I was specifically looking for people in science who came from, minority backgrounds. I specifically went to those conferences.

07:02 - I asked people to participate. I had flyers, I had posters. And every time I finished an interview, I asked people, I requested people if they can, talk about the survey, talk about the study in their groups so that more people may be interested. This is snowball sampling. I got, I used a combination of these methods. So I started with an interview, and if people wanted to do, sorry, I started with a survey. And after the survey, which took about eight minutes,

07:28 - if people wanted to do an interview, then I did an extensive interview study with them. So overall, I think about, 53 early career researchers who identified as being Latino participated, and said that they want to do an interview, but I ended up doing 29 interviews. The other, the rest of them, they did not, they did not interview. If you think about, the culture of science, who gets to do science, who gets to succeed in science,

08:00 - the typical narrative would be, I mean, the person who has the most likelihood of succeeding in science would be a white male from an upper class and a continuing generation family, which means someone whose parents have been to college have been to university. number wise, statistics wise, that's what I mean. If you look at the population of people who study science or who have jobs in science

08:29 - that forms most of the populations. Now, there are a lot of, beliefs about science that are very Eurocentric. I'll give you a few examples that science is bias free. That science is very objective, that science is individualistic, that science is competitive. and there's also a belief that, humans are at the top. They are the most intelligent, they are at the top.

09:00 - and then there's this exploitation of natural resources to suit human needs. Now, these views are not necessarily shared by all communities. If you talk to people from Native American backgrounds, they believe about harmonious coexistence in the nature. They do not believe in many of the science practices that would be very, mainstream in what we know as western science. Now, science is one thing, but who gets to do science?

09:30 - And we know that success is all about access. It's not just about merit. We often tend to think that people who are more meritocratic succeed, but it's also people who have more access, who succeed. So, thinking of identity, a lot of times personal identity or ethnic identity does not triangulate, does not, how, what should I, how should I put it, is not in alignment with science identity. Do I see myself as a scientist?

10:04 - Depends on where I come from. And this is not just me saying this is years of research has shown that people who identify as scientists or they're capable of becoming scientists in the future, it aligns with their personal identity. And that's, something interesting that I found that since, there's a lot of studies that talk about ethnic identity, not always in an alignment with science, plus the whole, competitive culture of science.

10:32 - I thought it would be interesting. Also, some numbers here would be important. if you look at the overall population of the us, about 18% of them identify as Latino. And this was back in 2018. So the number would be higher, 60 million people. quite a large number. But if you look at the undergraduate level, it's about 13.5% people, from Latino backgrounds who do science, who study science.

11:01 - By the time you go up to graduate studies and people who hold jobs, the number goes down and the number goes down specifically for women. In fact, Latino women are the most underrepresented group in STEM jobs. the number is 1.7%. STEM jobs are held by Latino women, only 1.7%. So these numbers are important because as we go higher up in, in our, in the education, in the training, in the science jobs,

11:34 - we see fewer people from certain backgrounds. And that is why, it was important to focus on certain groups and see what's going on, what makes them feel like imposters in this case, that they may not be able to kind of get fully, what they want to do. In science, I found that, participants had from medium to high to very influenced imposter phenomenon.

11:59 - But that's also because, I only surveyed people who think they have the imposter phenomenon. So I specifically looked at groups who said that I have imposter phenomenon, but the numbers were quite high. I had a good representation from PhD students and postdocs, more women than men. But that's not surprising for two reasons. Number one, historically, I mean, more women report in poster phenomenon than men do,

12:26 - and more women also participate in the studies, and it's also more women who are not adequately represented in science. So it made sense that more women participated in the study, that that is the survey part, that from moderate to high to very intensive postal phenomenon. Now, qualitatively, when I asked them questions, and this research is specifically based on one interview question, which is what is it about your ethnic identity? What's it about your ethnic background

12:57 - that makes you feel like an imposter? So I was very, very specific. I mean, of course I asked other questions as well, but this particular group, I had specifically asked this question, knowing the history and background of Latino people, I found, five big overarching themes, and I'll talk about it one by one. The first same theme that was very prevalent was family background.

13:24 - And the first generation status, in fact, a large part of this group were first generation people. I think there were about, 10 participants with the, who were not first generation. So quite a high number of first generation people. Now, what is it about the family background? people whose families are from a certain background have more access to such things, more early exposure. So physician families, people whose parents are physicians, they get a very early exposure to what the field looks like.

14:00 - In this case, when their parents were not from science fields or they were not from academia or education, many of them did not go to school. they did not have the know-how, but also the early life aspiration that I can become a scientist. I mean, I would think I can become a scientist if I see people around me either being scientist or wanting to be a scientist. it also reflected on the encouragement they got from

14:27 - their families or did not get. A lot of times families did not understand why they had to study, why they had to go to Uni University, why they had to become scientists. some parents said, once you are a scientist, it'll be good because you'll have a high paying job and you can fix our house and you can do this and that and that. So it was nothing related to the science itself that came out as a big feel.

14:52 - I think almost all of them talked about, coming from certain family backgrounds that made them feel like imposters. Now, why would it make them feel like an imposter? Because there was a constant tug, there was a constant conflict between their personal identity, who they are, where they come from, and the identity that you hold. As a scientist, that was a big thing. The second one was very interesting, which is a disparity

15:16 - between your observable traits and ethnic identity, the way you look and the way you identify. This happened a lot for, mixed background, white passing white individuals, so people who look white because of their skin color, but they identify as Hispanic. so what happened over there? there were comments from outside about, the, the, the authenticity of are they really Hispanic? What was it based on?

15:47 - something like, your accent does not make me think like you are Hispanic enough. You have a very English accent, or you have white skin, or you are very tall, or you are blonde, you have blonde hair. Those kind of comments. So constantly being told in those spaces where they work that you are not Hispanic enough. Now, these individuals, they identify as Hispanic, but having to constantly defend why they are Hispanic.

16:15 - Why, because, you know, they are not short or, so there were certain stereotypical images of how people should look when they say that I am Latino or Hispanic. So having to constantly defend that space that made them feel like an imposter. The third thing that came up was, English communication, both spoken and in writing. Even accents, deviant accents because a lot of people did not originally come from the us.

16:43 - They were from other countries, Latin Americans, central, central American countries who moved to the us. So they didn't understand the culture fully. the popular jokes, the television, the things that people talked about. But also a lot of times the accent, the way they felt being separated because of their accent. of course, English communication, writing took a longer time. being able to express their ideas took a longer time.

17:10 - So that was one of the third theme. The fourth one was, a lot of times these individuals were, treated as diversity enhancers of the department. So, you know, the department looks good when we have minorities, and hence we are going to bring them in, but we are going to do nothing to make them feel integrated and included. And I remember one of the quotes someone shared, which was very interesting. She is an international student

17:40 - also identifying as Latino. every time the department needed to show their minority statistics, she would be counted. But every time, there was something about a fellowship that was for, Latinos, she would not be counted because she would be counted as an international student, which would make her ineligible to apply for those scholarships. So being counted when it suits the department and not being counted when it doesn't suit the department.

18:10 - Those examples came up a lot. And what it made people think is, do I belong here? What am I doing here? Am I just, you know, enhancing the diversity of the department. recommendation letters that advisors wrote, there were many examples where the advisor would focus on how much great work they're doing because they are mentoring people of color. So they wrote nothing about the work, the scholarship,

18:36 - the science, the research, but the fact that they are mentoring people of color, and that's a great thing. so that was very interesting. The fifth theme was, feeling loneliness and isolation. Because when you are in a department, when you are in a space where you do not see anyone who looks like you, and research shows that, especially for people of color, if they can find mentors who also look like them or have similar life experiences,

19:07 - then they feel more understood. And that was absolutely not happening in this case. So often, people found that they were the only Latino or the only Latina, or the only woman, or the only woman of color in the department. That led to a lot of isolation. And also, you know how science is a very, I mean people have their own special groups and favorite groups and their cliques, they hang out together.

19:36 - They go for beers, they will go to conferences, have beers, and they include people who they're friends with. So what eventually happened was a lot of them were feeling isolated, especially women in this case. They would go to conferences and let's say someone would hand them their glass thinking that they are the help. They're the one who have come to clean up at the conference and not necessarily, be a participant at the conference.

20:02 - So these are the five themes that I found. What was most interesting here is if you look at other studies that look at predominantly white populations, those experiences are very generic to those groups. These experiences will not necessarily show up in those studies. But in this case, since I specifically chose a certain group of people, a lot of those, cultural experiences got highlighted much more. For the longest time, the imposter phenomenon was thought as

20:34 - an individual trait. So I as an individual feel like it, so I need to do something about it. Hmm. what it completely disregarded was the environment, what role the Environment plays. But in the last few years, studies after studies have shown that the environment plays a huge role. Specifically the kind of signals we get from the environment

20:58 - about do we belong, do we not belong? there's a lot of minority status stress. So the stress one experiences because of the minority status. So moving on, I think it's very important to focus on specific groups and their experiences. We have done enough of survey studies serving thousands of people. They have their own importance. They show a lot of important things,

21:20 - but they completely miss out on the cultural experiences, the nuances of life experiences. so moving on, that would be the big thing to do, which is to look at specific groups, especially, I mean, so far I think there's only one or two studies that look at Native Americans, maybe more that look at black ex black people's experiences, but even for Hispanic people, not as many studies. So doing that, doing more qualitative studies where you go deeper into those experiences.

21:51 - And most importantly, look at what kind of environments, especially, I haven't spoken about, discrimination, sexual harassment, micro oppression. Research shows that women of color are more likely to experience it compared to any other group. So look at the kind of environment that make people feel like imposters.

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