The use of cognitive enhancement (CE) by means of pharmaceutical agents has been the subject of intense debate both among scientists and in the media. This study investigates several drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use prescription drugs non-medically for augmenting brain capacity.

Durkheim's theory of suicide was among the first attempts within sociology to combine theoretical and empirical approaches. Empirical evidence has not yet produced cohesive results. In our opinion, this is due to inappropriate operationalization in previous studies. According to Durkheim's theory, ‘normal’ country-specific suicide levels and pathological suicide rates are different, and only the latter is really of sociological interest, as they are the result of Anomie. Our new empirical approach shows that country-specific suicide levels can be explained by particular living conditions that cannot be regarded as social phenomena (such as climatic conditions). In contrast, deviations from suicide levels over time are determined by social circumstances referring to Anomie.

While the nonmedical use of prescription drugs to enhance cognitive performance (NMUPD-CE) has received increasing media attention and provoked ethical debates, the social drivers of misusing this health-related drug remain understudied. Therefore, this study examined how descriptive and injunctive norms as social influences affect decisions to engage in NMUPD-CE. We tested competing assumptions about whether moral acceptability and positive and negative outcome expectations mediate or moderate the social norms effects. We used data from a Germany-wide, web-based survey with a sample of adult nonusers who were recruited offline (N= 13,443). We found that 62.09% of the respondents indicated at least some willingness for NMUPD-CE. Positive associations occurred between this willingness and both social norms, high positive and low negative outcome expectations, as well as higher moral acceptability. Moral acceptability and positive outcome expectations partially mediated both social norm effects, while negative outcome expectations only partially mediated injunctive norms. Moreover, positive and negative outcome expectations also moderated both social norm effects. This study provides insights into the understanding of social influence in the context of substance misuse and beyond. It suggests that social norms operate via moral acceptability and outcome expectations, while outcome expectations also lead to differential effects of social norms.

National governments around the world increasingly acknowledge the possibility of introducing new digital forms of money and implementing policies that trigger their adoption. Knowledge about the acceptance of such measures, however, is rather limited. Next to the regulatory uncertainty about the impact of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on competition, on financial stability and questions on the integrity and technical implementations of a CBDC, recent announcements of the joint venture of e.g. the European Central Bank with a large and globally operating private company emphatically raise questions about data privacy. Therefore, we report results of a survey experiment conducted in the United States of America, Germany and India to investigate the acceptance of an app-based monthly digital payment similar to a Universal Basic Income and investigate its adoption across income levels. Controlling for privacy features and short-term vs. long-term incentives to adopt the digital payment app, we find strong reservations with regard to the involvement of multinational tech companies in establishing new digital mediums of exchange, while also finding contextual differences in acceptance levels between the studied populations.