I think your hypothesis about confidence in the last paragraph is right on the mark. Iirc there were studies done trying to assess the same thing with regards

I think your hypothesis about confidence in the last paragraph is right on the mark. Iirc there were studies done trying to assess the same thing with regards to Adderall (aka amphetamine salts, which is used for adhd similarly to Ritalin). The researchers came to that exact same conclusion, that the drug didn’t actually make people smarter, but it gave them an illusion of being more capable, and they ended up performing better due to confidence.[0] 0. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871617302983 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03768...