Cognitive Enhancement in Germany: Prevalence, Procurement Strategies, Causes, and Implications (ENHANCE)

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Guido Mehlkop; Dr. Sebastian Sattler
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 358282780

Cognitive enhancement (CE) is the use of substances (such as caffeine tablets and methylphenidate) and other aids to increase mental performance when not medically necessary. It is often assumed that the increasing demand on performance as well as the desire to attain success and self-perfection causes more and more healthy people to turn to CE in order to improve concentration, alertness and/or memory. Some favor CE to increase productivity and quality of life as well as for the reduction of inequalities. However, critics emphasize such things as health risks, undesirable personality changes, violation of fairness norms and the illegal procurement of some of the substances. There have been very few systematic empirical studies on the general population regarding CE prevalence, willingness to use, supply channels as well as trends and attitudes. In addition, the mechanisms underlying the decision to use CE have not yet been sufficiently understood or empirically investigated. Hence in the first phase of the ENHANCE project, more than 20,000 persons in Germany were surveyed regarding CE in order to deal with these gaps in the research.The second phase will examine research questions which could not be (sufficiently) answered in the first phase. The focus remains on substance-based methods of performance improvement (with prescription drugs and illegal substances) but new methods will also be examined (such as brain stimulation and genetic modifications) based on various theoretical explanatory approaches. We want to explore the expected and experienced effects of the performance-enhancing substances as well as the effects of personal characteristics and social influences regarding the taking of these substances using both classical questioning techniques and experimental designs. Each person will be consulted four times, allowing examination of how consumption changes over time, what roles social context and work environment play (also under the current COVID-19 conditions), what effects the usage of CE has on people and social interaction, and how the substances are acquired. In addition, we want to better understand why people differ in their evaluation of the risks and benefits of CE as well as their moral acceptance – and to what extent these evaluations change over time. ENHANCE thus promises answers to central open research questions as well as to create a basis for the prevention of risky CE. The results will be disseminated through scientific publications, lectures, media reports and an international conference. The project will promote international and interdisciplinary academic cooperation as well as encourage young scholars.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants