The ENHANCE project

The debate about cognitive enhancement, i.e. the use of substances and other tools to enhance mental performance without medical indication, has attracted increasing public and scientific interest in recent years. It is often assumed that as a result of the increasing demand for performance and the pursuit of success and perfection, more and more people are turning to substances such as caffeine tablets, methylphenidate, or amphetamines to improve their ability to concentrate, remember, learn, and make decisions.

Some scientists advocate cognitive enhancement as a means of improving productivity and quality of life, as well as to reduce social inequalities. These views are outweighed by critical voices that point to the risks of enhancement: unwanted personality changes, occasionally serious side effects, the violation of notions of fairness that may undermine motivation to perform, and the illegal nature of obtaining some types of enhancement.

The ENHANCE project is a four-wave panel study of cognitive enhancement that is broadly representative of the German population. The study focuses primarily on substance-based methods of performance enhancement (e.g., prescription drugs and illicit substances), but also examines other biotechnological forms such as brain stimulation and genetic modification. ENHANCE examines factors such as the properties of performance-enhancing substances, personal characteristics, and social influences, and uses both classic survey elements and experimental research strategies to explain the use of, and attitudes towards various performance-enhancing methods.