什么是冒名顶替综合征，如何克服它？- 伊丽莎白·考克斯 (Elizabeth Cox)：英语精读讲义

Even after writing 11 books and winning several prestigious awards, 表達脈絡

即使在写了11本书并获得了几个著名奖项之后，

Maya Angelou couldn't escape the nagging doubt 習語

玛雅·安吉洛依然无法摆脱一种挥之不去的自我怀疑，

that she hadn't really earned her accomplishments. 語法

认为自己并没有真正配得上这些成就。

Albert Einstein experienced something similar.

阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦也有过类似的经历。

He described himself as an involuntary swindler 習語

他形容自己是个“非自愿的骗子”，

whose work didn't deserve as much attention as it had received. 語法

认为自己的工作根本不配获得那么多关注。

Accomplishments at the level of Angelou's or Einstein's are rare, 短語搭配

像安吉洛或爱因斯坦那样级别的成就是罕见的，

but their feeling of fraudulence is extremely common. 用詞

但他们这种感觉自己像骗子的心态却极其普遍。

Why can't so many of us shake feelings that we haven't earned our accomplishments, 用詞

为什么我们中有这么多人无法摆脱“德不配位”的感觉，

or that our ideas and skills aren't worthy of others' attention? 短語搭配

或者总觉得我们的想法和技能不值得别人关注呢？

Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance was the first to study this unwarranted sense of insecurity. 語法

心理学家宝琳·罗斯·克兰斯是第一位研究这种毫无根据的不安全感的人。

In her work as a therapist,

在她作为治疗师的工作中，

she noticed many of her undergraduate patients shared a concern.

她注意到她的许多本科患者都有一个共同的担忧。

Though they had high grades,

尽管他们成绩优异，

they didn't believe they deserved their spots at the university. 用詞

他们却不相信自己配得上在大学里的一席之地。

Some even believed their acceptance had been an admissions error. 文化背景

有些人甚至认为自己被录取只是招生办的失误。

While Clance knew these fears were unfounded, 用詞

虽然克兰斯知道这些恐惧是毫无根据的，

she could also remember feeling the exact same way in graduate school.

但她也记得自己在读研时有过完全相同的感受。

She and her patients experienced something that goes by a number of names: 短語搭配

她和她的患者所经历的这种现象有几个不同的名字：

imposter phenomenon,

冒名顶替者现象、

imposter experience,

冒名顶替者体验、

and imposter syndrome. 文化背景

以及冒名顶替者综合征。

Together with colleague Suzanne Imes,

与同事苏珊·艾姆斯一起，

Clance first studied impostorism in female college students and faculty.

克兰斯首先在女大学生和女教职工中研究了这种冒名顶替现象。

Their work established pervasive feelings of fraudulence in this group.

她们的研究证实了这种感觉自己是骗子的心态在该群体中普遍存在。

Since that first study,

自那次初步研究以来，

the same thing has been established across gender, race, age, and a huge range of occupations. 短語搭配

同样的现象在不同性别、种族、年龄以及各种各样的职业中都得到了证实。

Though it may be more prevalent and disproportionately affect the experiences of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups. 用詞

尽管它在少数群体或弱势群体中可能更为普遍，并且对他们的经历影响更为明显。

To call it a syndrome is to downplay how universal it is. 語法

将其称为一种“综合征”，其实是低估了它的普遍性。

It's not a disease or an abnormality,

它不是一种疾病，也不是什么反常现象，

and it isn't necessarily tied to depression, anxiety, or self-esteem. 短語搭配

它也并不一定与抑郁、焦虑或自尊心有关。

Where do these feelings of fraudulence come from?

那么这种感觉自己像骗子的心态是从何而来的呢？

People who are highly skilled or accomplished tend to think others are just as skilled.

技能高超或成就斐然的人往往认为别人也同样优秀。

This can spiral into feelings that they don't deserve accolades and opportunities over other people. 習語

这会逐渐演变成一种感觉，认为自己不该比别人获得更多的赞誉和机会。

And as Angelou and Einstein experienced,

而且正如安吉洛和爱因斯坦所经历的那样，

there's often no threshold of accomplishment that puts these feelings to rest. 講解

往往没有任何成就的阈值能让这些感觉平息。

Feelings of impostorism aren't restricted to highly skilled individuals either.

冒名顶替的感觉也不仅仅局限于那些高技能的人。

Everyone is susceptible to a phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance, 文化背景

每个人都容易受到一种被称为“多数无知”现象的影响，

where we each doubt ourselves privately,

在这种现象中，我们每个人私下里都在怀疑自己，

but believe we're alone in thinking that way because no one else voices their doubts. 用詞

但却认为只有自己这么想，因为没有其他人会说出他们的怀疑。

Since it's tough to really know how hard our peers work,

因为我们很难真正了解同龄人工作有多努力，

how difficult they find certain tasks,

他们觉得某些任务有多困难，

or how much they doubt themselves,

或者他们对自己有多怀疑，

there's no easy way to dismiss feelings that we're less capable than the people around us. 語法

所以我们很难轻易打消这种“自己能力不如身边人”的感觉。

And intense feelings of impostorism can prevent people from sharing their great ideas 語法

而且强烈的冒名顶替感会阻止人们分享他们出色的想法，

or applying for jobs and programs where they'd excel.

或者去申请那些他们本可以大放异彩的工作和项目。

At least so far, 表達脈絡

至少到目前为止，

the most sure-fire way to combat impostor syndrome is to talk about it. 短語搭配

对抗冒名顶替者综合征最万无一失的方法就是谈论它。

Many people suffering from impostor syndrome are afraid that if they ask about their performance, 語法

许多饱受冒名顶替者综合征折磨的人害怕，如果他们询问别人对自己表现的看法，

their fears will be confirmed.

他们的恐惧就会被证实。

And even when they receive positive feedback,

甚至当他们收到积极的反馈时，

it often fails to ease feelings of fraudulence. 短語搭配

也往往无法缓解他们那种“骗子”的感觉。

But on the other hand, 表達脈絡

但另一方面，

hearing that an advisor or mentor has experienced feelings of impostorism can help relieve those feelings.

听到导师或指导者也曾经历过冒名顶替的感觉，可以帮助减轻这些感受。

The same goes for peers. 短語搭配

对同龄人来说也是如此。

Even simply finding out there's a term for these feelings can be an incredible relief. 短語動詞

甚至仅仅是知道这些感受有一个专有名词，就能带来难以置信的慰藉。

Once you're aware of the phenomenon, 語法

一旦你意识到了这种现象，

you can combat your own impostor syndrome by collecting and revisiting positive feedback. 語法

你就可以通过收集并回顾积极的反馈来对抗你自己的冒名顶替者综合征。

One scientist who kept blaming herself for problems in her lab 短語搭配

有一位科学家总是把实验室里出现的问题归咎于自己，

started to document the causes every time something went wrong.

她开始在每次出问题时记录下原因。

Eventually,

最终，

she realized most of the problems came from equipment failure and came to recognize her own competence. 短語搭配

她意识到大多数问题都出在设备故障上，并开始认可自己的能力。

We may never be able to banish these feelings entirely, 語法

我们也许永远无法完全消除这些感觉，

but we can have open conversations about academic or professional challenges.

但我们可以就学术或职业上的挑战进行开诚布公的对话。

With increasing awareness of how common these experiences are, 語法

随着人们越来越意识到这些经历有多么普遍，

perhaps we can feel freer to be frank about our feelings and build confidence in some simple truths: 用詞

也许我们可以更自在地坦露自己的感受，并对一些简单的真理建立信心：

You have talent, you are capable, and you belong. 表達脈絡

你有天赋，你有能力，并且你属于这里。

Everyone can use a little extra kick of confidence sometimes. 習語

有时候，每个人都需要一点额外的自信心作为动力。

Find out some tips and tricks for boosting yours with this video.

通过这个视频，了解一些提升自信的小技巧吧。