Abstract
There has been growing global interest in impostor phenomenon (IP) and its consequences for well-being, performance, and career development, yet there remains a big gap in Indian scholarship, especially in qualitative work, which focuses on voices of participants. While this phenomenon has been examined extensively in the Western context, mainly through approaches that are quantitative in nature, there is limited qualitative research which explores the lived realities of highly successful individuals undergoing intense doubts about their merit and self-worth, in collectivistic, non-Western, and socio-culturally complex dynamics, like India. This qualitative research study aims to explore how Indian college students and working professionals experience impostor phenomenon, the contextual factors influencing these experiences, and the consequences for well-being of individuals. Using in-depth interviews with various participants, this research aims to address an important lacuna in Indian and non-Western literature on impostor phenomenon. So far, we have conducted semi-structured interviews of 5 college students and 6 working professionals, and we continue to do so unless theoretical saturation is reached (Hayashi et al., 2019). In order to interview suitable participants, initially, the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), developed by Clance (1985) was administered to screen participants who experience intense feelings of impostor phenomenon (individuals getting a score of above 80 on the scale). Thematic analysis by Braune and Clarke (2006) has been used so far to analyze the data, and we will continue to do the same for further interviews. We expect this study to provide theoretically and practically important insights for academia and organizations that are concerned about student and employee performance and well-being.