The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a theory of attitude change that explains how people process and respond to persuasive messages. It suggests that people can be persuaded through two different routes: the central route, which involves careful consideration of the message's content, and the peripheral route, which relies on more superficial cues like the source's credibility or the message's attractiveness.
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The Elaboration Likelihood Model proposes that the more a person is motivated and able to think about a persuasive message, the more likely they are to process the message through the central route.
When people are not motivated or able to process a message carefully, they are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as the source's credibility or the message's attractiveness, to form or change their attitudes.
Attitudes formed or changed through the central route are generally more persistent, resistant to change, and predictive of behavior than attitudes formed or changed through the peripheral route.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests that the effectiveness of a persuasive message depends on the target audience's level of involvement and the strength of the arguments presented.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model has been widely used in the study of advertising, political communication, and health communication to understand how people process and respond to persuasive messages.
Review Questions
Explain the two routes to persuasion described in the Elaboration Likelihood Model and how they differ in terms of the cognitive processes involved.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model describes two routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route. The central route involves the careful consideration and evaluation of the arguments and information presented in a persuasive message, leading to attitude change that is more lasting and resistant to change. In contrast, the peripheral route involves relying on simple cues or heuristics, such as the credibility of the source or the attractiveness of the message, rather than the content of the message itself, to form or change attitudes. The extent to which people engage in the central route versus the peripheral route depends on their motivation and ability to process the message.
Discuss how the Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests that the effectiveness of a persuasive message depends on the target audience's level of involvement and the strength of the arguments presented.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model proposes that the effectiveness of a persuasive message depends on the target audience's level of involvement and the strength of the arguments presented. When people are highly motivated and able to process a message carefully, they are more likely to engage in the central route of persuasion, carefully evaluating the arguments and information presented. In this case, the strength of the arguments is crucial, as strong arguments are more likely to lead to lasting attitude change. However, when people are not motivated or able to process a message carefully, they are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as the source's credibility or the message's attractiveness, to form or change their attitudes. In this case, the target audience's level of involvement is a key factor, as those with low involvement are more susceptible to peripheral cues.
Analyze how the Elaboration Likelihood Model has been applied in the study of advertising, political communication, and health communication to understand how people process and respond to persuasive messages.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model has been widely used in the study of advertising, political communication, and health communication to understand how people process and respond to persuasive messages. In advertising, researchers have used the model to examine how consumers respond to different types of advertisements, such as those that appeal to peripheral cues versus those that present strong arguments. In political communication, the model has been applied to understand how voters process and respond to campaign messages, with the central route being more important for highly involved and informed voters, and the peripheral route being more influential for those with low involvement. In health communication, the model has been used to design and evaluate persuasive messages aimed at promoting healthy behaviors, with the central route being more effective for those who are already motivated to change, and the peripheral route being more useful for those who are less motivated. By understanding the factors that influence the central and peripheral routes to persuasion, researchers and practitioners in these fields can develop more effective persuasive strategies.
The central route to persuasion involves the careful consideration and evaluation of the arguments and information presented in a persuasive message, leading to attitude change that is more lasting and resistant to change.
The peripheral route to persuasion involves relying on simple cues or heuristics, such as the credibility of the source or the attractiveness of the message, rather than the content of the message itself, to form or change attitudes.
Motivation and Ability: The Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests that the extent to which people engage in the central route versus the peripheral route depends on their motivation and ability to process the message.