‘Frauds’ In the Classroom: The Prevalence and Relationship between Impostor Phenomenon, Academic Motivation and Study Engagement among Indian College Students

The focus on deciding a career based on important academic choices in order to experience financial autonomy, along with having to deal with other specific responsibilities of early adulthood, adds great pressure to students in universities. It thus becomes important to understand factors that influence the academic performance and motivations of college students who wish to obtain a degree for their future employment. This study aimed to understand a psychological concept known as the Impostor phenomenon, and its relationship with Academic Motivation and Study Engagement among college students, specifically in India. The former concept explains a feeling of ‘intellectual fraudulence’ among high achievers, while the latter variables determine how motivated a student would be in wanting to complete and attain an academic degree. The data was collected through an online survey involving 186 college students, conveniently sampled across India. The quantitative results showed that the impostor phenomenon, exhibiting a high prevalence rate, is significantly correlated to academic motivation (specifically intrinsic); and that the average scores for both the variables were differentiated by gender, with higher impostor phenomenon feelings experienced by females. Recommendations regarding the results were suggested in the form of targeted interventions to be inculcated within institutional frameworks, in order to eliminate the negative effects of the impostor phenomenon on student performance. These included implementing programs such as support groups, co-located psychological resource centres, and technology-based surveys for screening, along with suggestions to change the behaviour of teachers, and cultural parenting norms of those who interact with vulnerable students.