title: The imposter phenomenon : an exploration of the need to please

authors: Wells, Debra

subjects: Women Psychology

abstract: The Imposter Phenomenon is an internal sense of intellectual phoniness that results in those who experience it, discounting their abilities by attributing success to such things as luck or charm. 

The topic of this thesis is "The Imposter Phenomenon: An Exploration of the Need to Please" Bussotti (1990) noted in her doctoral thesis that she unexpectedly found a strong association between the need to please and the Imposter Phenomenon and that this warranted further study. This thesis considers the roles Imposters received within their families as children and the impact of the subsequent need to please within the family unit, on the personal development of the Imposter Phenomenon. It however takes the dynamic of the need to please beyond the individual and places it into the wider framework of gender role socialisation.

The theory that I postulate is that the way in which one pleases another is gendered in its understanding and outworking. The seven women who participated in this research were all from homes where traditional male and female roles were modeled. They learnt that to please others meant to behave as a traditionally defined female. Within this definition there was little room for more masculine traits to be integrated within their self-concept. When later in their lives they experienced academic success they attributed this not to their more masculised behaviours such as assertiveness and competitiveness but rather to the more neutral attributions of luck, or faking it. They said they felt like Imposters waiting to be discovered. I have proposed that this duality be named the Margaret Thatcher/Mother Teresa Identity Enigma. 

A brief outline of the thesis chapters is now provided.

Chapter One: Provides a comprehensive literature review of the Imposter Phenomenon research. It covers a definition of the Imposter Phenomenon, why it is considered a problem, characteristics of the Imposter Phenomenon, family dynamics, longevity and maintenance of Imposter dynamics and therapy.

Chapter Two: Imposter Phenomenon - In Other Guises shows how the concept of the Imposter Phenomenon is in fact one of many explanations of the same thing, the fear of failure. It specifically looks at Fear of Failure, Self-Worth Protection Theory, and the Achilles Syndrome.

Chapter Three: Gender Role Development considers three broad theories of gender role development. These are Biological, Social, and Structural theories. It suggests that the social and structural theories are of most use when considering Imposter Dynamics because they recognise that women are shaped to a large extent by the society in which they grow up in.

Chapter Four: Methodology, begins by outlining the paradigm of lnterpretivism used in this research. It also covers procedure, recruitment, participants and instruments utilised. It also addresses limitations of this research.

Chapter Five: Findings presents the voices of the participants themselves in sections that weave together to show the impact of 'needing to please' others on their lives.

Chapter Six: Towards a Social Theory of the Imposter Phenomenon pulls all of the different threads together and suggests a new theory about the impact of the need to please on the development of the Imposter Phenomenon.

text: The imposter phenomenon : an exploration of the need to please The Imposter Phenomenon is an internal sense of intellectual phoniness that results in those who experience it, discounting their abilities by attributing success to such things as luck or charm. 

The topic of this thesis is "The Imposter Phenomenon: An Exploration of the Need to Please" Bussotti (1990) noted in her doctoral thesis that she unexpectedly found a strong association between the need to please and the Imposter Phenomenon and that this warranted further study. This thesis considers the roles Imposters received within their families as children and the impact of the subsequent need to please within the family unit, on the personal development of the Imposter Phenomenon. It however takes the dynamic of the need to please beyond the individual and places it into the wider framework of gender role socialisation.

The theory that I postulate is that the way in which one pleases another is gendered in its understanding and outworking. The seven women who participated in this research were all from homes where traditional male and female roles were modeled. They learnt that to please others meant to behave as a traditionally defined female. Within this definition there was little room for more masculine traits to be integrated within their self-concept. When later in their lives they experienced academic success they attributed this not to their more masculised behaviours such as assertiveness and competitiveness but rather to the more neutral attributions of luck, or faking it. They said they felt like Imposters waiting to be discovered. I have proposed that this duality be named the Margaret Thatcher/Mother Teresa Identity Enigma. 

A brief outline of the thesis chapters is now provided.

Chapter One: Provides a comprehensive literature review of the Imposter Phenomenon research. It covers a definition of the Imposter Phenomenon, why it is considered a problem, characteristics of the Imposter Phenomenon, family dynamics, longevity and maintenance of Imposter dynamics and therapy.

Chapter Two: Imposter Phenomenon - In Other Guises shows how the concept of the Imposter Phenomenon is in fact one of many explanations of the same thing, the fear of failure. It specifically looks at Fear of Failure, Self-Worth Protection Theory, and the Achilles Syndrome.

Chapter Three: Gender Role Development considers three broad theories of gender role development. These are Biological, Social, and Structural theories. It suggests that the social and structural theories are of most use when considering Imposter Dynamics because they recognise that women are shaped to a large extent by the society in which they grow up in.

Chapter Four: Methodology, begins by outlining the paradigm of lnterpretivism used in this research. It also covers procedure, recruitment, participants and instruments utilised. It also addresses limitations of this research.

Chapter Five: Findings presents the voices of the participants themselves in sections that weave together to show the impact of 'needing to please' others on their lives.

Chapter Six: Towards a Social Theory of the Imposter Phenomenon pulls all of the different threads together and suggests a new theory about the impact of the need to please on the development of the Imposter Phenomenon.

year: 1999

title: Biochemical Characterisation of Reconstructed Ancestral CM-DAH7PS Enzymes

authors: McMillan, Joel Patrick

subjects: DAH7PS

abstract: Thermophily has been proposed to be a primitive trait (Stetter, 2006, Pace, 1991, Woese, 1987) which has led to suggestions that all contemporary thermophilic species are the direct descendants of ancient thermophilic organisms. Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) is a modern molecular technique which has been used to study the evolution of thermophily, however these studies have produced conflicting results. Studies utilising ASR to investigate the evolution of thermophily with two different proteins, elongation factor Tu and thioredoxin, have suggested a primitive origin for thermophily. However a recent study by Hobbs et al. (2012), in which ancestral IPMDH enzymes were reconstructed and biochemically characterised in order to investigate the evolution of thermophily in the Bacillus genus, suggested that thermophily may have evolved at least twice within the Bacillus genus, indicating that thermophily may not be strictly a primitive trait. This finding needs to be supported by data from other reconstructed enzymes.

Four ancestral Bacillus 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase enzymes with chorismate mutase fused to their N-termini (CM-DAH7PS) were reconstructed to investigate whether a similar trend would be observed with a different enzyme. The ages of these ancestral Precambrian enzymes were estimated to be between 570 and 1,079 million years old. The three most recent ancestral enzymes were characterised and deemed biologically feasible as evidenced by the kinetic properties they display, which are similar to those displayed by two extant CM-DAH7PS enzymes from Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus stearothermophilus. The X-ray crystal structure of the most recent CM-DAH7PS ancestor has been solved and found to be very similar to previously solved DAH7PS structures. The optimal temperatures for activity of the ancestral DAH7PS enzymes were used to infer how thermophily may have evolved in the Bacillus genus. Interestingly, the results conflict with the findings of Hobbs et al. (2012). This suggests that the biochemical characteristics of ancestral enzymes may be highly susceptible to the biochemical properties of the contemporary species used in the inference or that different enzymes may result in different inferences being drawn regarding the evolution of thermophily.

text: Biochemical Characterisation of Reconstructed Ancestral CM-DAH7PS Enzymes Thermophily has been proposed to be a primitive trait (Stetter, 2006, Pace, 1991, Woese, 1987) which has led to suggestions that all contemporary thermophilic species are the direct descendants of ancient thermophilic organisms. Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) is a modern molecular technique which has been used to study the evolution of thermophily, however these studies have produced conflicting results. Studies utilising ASR to investigate the evolution of thermophily with two different proteins, elongation factor Tu and thioredoxin, have suggested a primitive origin for thermophily. However a recent study by Hobbs et al. (2012), in which ancestral IPMDH enzymes were reconstructed and biochemically characterised in order to investigate the evolution of thermophily in the Bacillus genus, suggested that thermophily may have evolved at least twice within the Bacillus genus, indicating that thermophily may not be strictly a primitive trait. This finding needs to be supported by data from other reconstructed enzymes.

Four ancestral Bacillus 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase enzymes with chorismate mutase fused to their N-termini (CM-DAH7PS) were reconstructed to investigate whether a similar trend would be observed with a different enzyme. The ages of these ancestral Precambrian enzymes were estimated to be between 570 and 1,079 million years old. The three most recent ancestral enzymes were characterised and deemed biologically feasible as evidenced by the kinetic properties they display, which are similar to those displayed by two extant CM-DAH7PS enzymes from Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus stearothermophilus. The X-ray crystal structure of the most recent CM-DAH7PS ancestor has been solved and found to be very similar to previously solved DAH7PS structures. The optimal temperatures for activity of the ancestral DAH7PS enzymes were used to infer how thermophily may have evolved in the Bacillus genus. Interestingly, the results conflict with the findings of Hobbs et al. (2012). This suggests that the biochemical characteristics of ancestral enzymes may be highly susceptible to the biochemical properties of the contemporary species used in the inference or that different enzymes may result in different inferences being drawn regarding the evolution of thermophily.

year: 2012

title: Kia kāpuia te reo o Tāmaki ki te Tonga: Tāmaki Makaurau ki te Tonga

authors: Lee-Morgan, Jenny Bol Jun

abstract: Mai i te Papakuratanga o Mataoho tae noa ki tona Ipu. Mai i Pukaki Tapu o Poutiikeka ki Te Puketapapatanga a Hape. Mai i te tahuna o Torea i nga wai o Mokoia, mawhiti atu ki Te Arapueru e karekare mai na ko Te Manukanuka a Hoturoa, kei reira a Taramainuku raua ko Kaiwhare. Ka kawea ki nga.hau o Mangere, e topa ai taku manuhokahoka ki Te Manurewatanga a Tamapahore. Whakaterawhiti taku haere ki Otara-a-nuku, ki Otara-a-rangi koia te tikapatanga o toku tiipuna o Marutuahu. Hoki whenei mai au ki Te Pane o Mataoho, tiro kau ake au ki aku pa whakairo ko Matatukutureia, ko Matukurua nga nohoanga tapu o Huakaiwaka, o Nga Tini-o-toitehuatahi, o Maruiwi kua ngaro katoa ki te reinga.

text: Kia kāpuia te reo o Tāmaki ki te Tonga: Tāmaki Makaurau ki te Tonga Mai i te Papakuratanga o Mataoho tae noa ki tona Ipu. Mai i Pukaki Tapu o Poutiikeka ki Te Puketapapatanga a Hape. Mai i te tahuna o Torea i nga wai o Mokoia, mawhiti atu ki Te Arapueru e karekare mai na ko Te Manukanuka a Hoturoa, kei reira a Taramainuku raua ko Kaiwhare. Ka kawea ki nga.hau o Mangere, e topa ai taku manuhokahoka ki Te Manurewatanga a Tamapahore. Whakaterawhiti taku haere ki Otara-a-nuku, ki Otara-a-rangi koia te tikapatanga o toku tiipuna o Marutuahu. Hoki whenei mai au ki Te Pane o Mataoho, tiro kau ake au ki aku pa whakairo ko Matatukutureia, ko Matukurua nga nohoanga tapu o Huakaiwaka, o Nga Tini-o-toitehuatahi, o Maruiwi kua ngaro katoa ki te reinga.

year: 2017