I may not be, but I fell like an impostor

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2025v17n2ID36050

Keywords:

CIPS, Academic Performance, Imposter Phenomenon

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between the impostor phenomenon and the academic performance of undergraduate students in business administration and accounting at a Brazilian federal university.

Methodology: To complete the research, a non-probabilistic sample (for convenience purposes) of students responded to a questionnaire consisting of sixteen questions that assessed the impostor experience. In addition, respondents were asked to provide information about their age, salary range, race, previous education, academic performance index, gender, and the semester they were currently studying. A quantitative approach was used with descriptive statistics, correlation tests, ANOVAs and t-tests.

Results: The findings indicate that higher levels of the impostor phenomenon may be associated with higher income coefficients (for business administration, not significant for accounting). Furthermore, variables such as period, salary bracket and race appear to be unrelated to higher levels of the phenomenon.

Contributions of the Study: This study is justified in proposing an assessment of a phenomenon of self-deprecation, which can reverberate in students academic career, and is relevant in highlighting a problem that affects the well-being of the academic community and should be the target of actions by educational managers. Furthermore, it advances the literature by evaluating specific undergraduate courses, considering the context of a Brazilian Federal University.

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Author Biographies

Victor Silva Guimarães, Universidade Federal do Piauí - UFPI

Mestrando em Gestão Pública pela Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI).

Maurício Mendes Boavista de Castro, Universidade Federal do Piauí - UFPI

Doutor em Administração pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). ). Professor da Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI). 

João Carlos Hipólito Bernardes do Nascimento, Universidade Federal do Piauí - UFPI

Doutor em Ciências Contábeis pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Professor da Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI).

Jane Gabriela Soares de Lemos, Universidade Federal do Piauí - UFPI

Mestra em Gestão Pública pela Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI). Professora do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí (IFPI).

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Published

03-07-2025

How to Cite

Guimarães, V. S. ., Castro, M. M. B. de ., Nascimento, J. C. H. B. do ., & Lemos, J. G. S. de . (2025). I may not be, but I fell like an impostor. REVISTA AMBIENTE CONTÁBIL - Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Norte, 17(2), 497–512. https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2025v17n2ID36050

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2025): Jul./Dez.

Section

Section 3: Research of Field on Accounting (Survey) (S3)

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