Pseudo-Scientist

Although IS is extremely common (especially in high achievers, e.g., academics), few studies offer effective modes of support and recovery. In response, we introduce the application of relatable narrative as a way to help people overcome IS. This research was a collaborative project spanning many lab members with imposter syndrome experience. The STEM students we sampled in our study overwhelmingly enthusiastically endorsed the story as a valuable learning experience and also reported positive impacts to mood due to feeling less alone. Using a randomized group comparison study design, we revealed that these positive impacts to mood were best explained by the story’s holistically relatable content, rather than its choice-based interactivity or main character relatability. Our work has important implications reinforcing the value of narrative alone for driving engagement and impact by stimulating intrinsically motivating feelings of relatedness to peers.