"Well, something has to kill me!”

「肯定有東西會殺了我。」

For Leon Festinger, an American social psychologist, that is the sound of a human mind resolving conflict.

對於美國心理學家利昂・費斯廷格來說，這是人類大腦解決衝突的聲音。

Festinger is known for his work on cognitive dissonance, a psychological state produced by conflicts between cognitions.

費斯廷格以他在認知失調方面的研究而聞名，認知失調是由認知上的衝突產生的心理狀態。

Cognitions is an umbrella term for any idea, belief, emotion or knowledge.

認知是思想、信仰、情感或知識的總稱。

Festinger’s "A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance," published in 1957, argued that humans prefer cognitions to be unopposed or consonant, and struggle with those that are opposed, or dissonant.

費斯廷格在 1957 年出版的《認知失調論》一書中指出，人類偏好非對立、和諧的認知，而因對立或不和諧的認知而掙扎。

Due to the sheer number of cognitions that we process, they are often in conflict and these conflicts become noticeable when we have to make decisions or are faced with new information that contradicts ideas we already hold.

由於我們需處理的認知量龐大，它們經常會產生衝突，而當我們不得不做出決定或接收與既有觀點相矛盾的資訊時，這些衝突就會變得顯而易見。

Festinger believed these conflicts to be psychologically distressing.

費斯廷格認為這些衝突會帶來心理上的痛苦。

When they occur, he said, people will try to resolve the conflict.

發生衝突時，人們會試圖解決。

When two cognitions are inconsistent, this usually means attempting to reduce dissonance by controlling the information we’re exposed to.

當兩種認知不一致時，通常會透過控制所接收的資訊減少不和諧。

What sort of conflicts?

哪一類的衝突？

Well, cigarette smokers often encounter cognitive dissonance.

吸菸者經常遭遇認知失調。

There is conflict between the behaviors created by their enjoyment of, and addiction to smoking, and information highlighting the health problems associated with their habit.

他們享受抽菸、對抽菸上癮的行為，與伴隨此習慣而來的健康問題之間存在衝突。

Festinger argues that this dissonance causes smokers to become distressed by their smoking behavior, they may talk constantly about quitting or trying repeatedly to quit.

費斯廷格認為這樣的認知失調使吸菸者對吸菸行為感到痛苦，他們可能不斷地說要戒菸或反覆地嘗試戒菸。

But Festinger’s theory goes further than that. He suggests smokers use 4 specific techniques to combat dissonance and the distress associated with it.

但費斯廷格的理論不止於此。他建議吸菸者使用四種特定的方法來對抗不協調的認知及其帶來的痛苦。

Number 1: Smokers may quit smoking because of messages from health officials.

一、吸菸者可能會因為官方發布的健康警示而戒菸。

That’s the smoker changing existing cognitions to relieve the distress caused by new messages.

這就是吸菸者透過改變既有的認知以緩解新資訊帶來的痛苦。

Number 2: Smokers may attempt to justify their cognitions. For example, they might concentrate on the likelihood that everyone faces a health risk one way or another.

二、吸菸者可能會試著將認知合理化。例如，他們可能會把焦點放在每個人不管怎樣都會有不同的健康問題。

Quitting smoking doesn’t mean avoiding every risk, they argue, so is it worth it?

他們認為，既然戒菸不代表可以避免所有的風險，那這麼做值得嗎？

Or maybe the pleasure gained is worth the risk.

又或者，抽菸帶來的享受值得他們冒險。

Thirdly, they add new cognitions. For instance, eating healthily or exercising, a smoker might argue, counteracts the risk of smoking.

三、他們補充新的認知。例如，吸菸者也可能會爭辯，健康的飲食或運動可抵抗吸菸帶來的風險。

In other words, several desirable cognitions can outweigh the distress caused by the health warning, making it all together easier to cope.

換句話說，一些正面的認知勝過健康警示帶來的痛苦，讓他們心裡比較好受。

Finally, number 4: Smokers may dismiss information by questioning the validity of the science behind a warning.

最後，第四點：吸菸者可能會透過質疑健康警示的科學證據來否定相關資訊。

"Wasn’t there a study last month that seemed to prove the opposite?"

「上個月不是有另一項研究推翻了這種說法嗎？」

Or they may ignore it by working to avoid coming into contact with negative messages.

或者他們會避免接觸負面資訊而忽略相關警示。

Festinger argued that his theory explained behaviors much more dangerous than smoking.

費斯廷格認為，他的理論證實了比吸菸更嚴重的行為。

If people in government work together to rationalize and justify their actions, it becomes much easier to ignore warnings.

如果政府各部門把相關行為合理化，那麼忽視警告就會變得容易許多。

A more detailed examination of his ideas can be found in the Macat Analysis.

Macat Analysis 提供此觀點的詳細說明。