Impostor Phenomenon in Nontraditional Doctoral Students: Superiority and Inferiority Schemas Unpacked

Impostor phenomenon undermines doctoral student success, yet its internal architecture remains undertheorized for nontraditional adult learners. This qualitative case study examined how impostor phenomenon manifests behaviorally and what self-schemas underlie those behaviors among 20 nontraditional doctoral students at a U.S. research university. Using two-phase reflexive thematic analysis, the researcher identified behavioral patterns aligned with Young’s (2011) five-type typology, then conducted inductive analysis to uncover deeper cognitive structures. Guided by andragogy, transformative learning, and self-authorship theories, findings revealed two overarching self-schemas: the Superiority Impostor, defined by compulsive performance of effortless competence, and the Inferiority Impostor, defined by persistent conviction of intellectual inadequacy. These developmentally situated meaning structures require differentiated educational responses. The study contributes to adult education scholarship by conceptualizing impostor phenomenon as a distorted meaning scheme that intercepts doctoral students’ transformative learning, with implications for schema-sensitive mentoring and program design.