Fenômeno Impostor, Comparação Social e Cyberloafing em Redes Sociais de Graduandos em Ciências Contábeis

Objective: The impostor phenomenon (IP) is a psychological mechanism involving many factors and consequences. Due to its multiple consequences and interactions, it has gained prominence in the Brazilian and international literature. This study presents evidence of a potential relationship between social comparison and the use of social media. It analyzes the relationship between IP and cyberloafing on social media during classes, mediated by undergraduate accounting students’ social comparison orientation (SCO). Method: This study surveyed 502 Accounting Sciences students, and ANOVA tests and structural equation modeling were performed. Results and contributions: Significant differences were found between the level of IP and cyberloafing and ability-based and opinion-based SCO. Nonetheless, the relational model did not confirm whether SCO moderates this relationship. Such a result indicates that SCO drives the effects of IP on cyberloafing practiced on social media during classes. One of this study’s contributions concerns the importance of observing these variables within the scope of teaching policies and teaching methodologies.