Elaboration Likelihood Model

Identify two broad categories of factors that influence the amount of elaboration undertaken.

Ability to engage in such elaboration Motivation to engage in such elaboration

Explain the general difference between central and peripheral routes to persuasion.

Central route has to do with content of argument and the thought that arises from it, peripheral has to do with how the argument is communicated, like cues of the communicator themself

Give three examples of heuristic principles.

Credibility heuristic Liking heuristic Consensus heuristic

Identify two factors influencing elaboration ability.

Distraction Prior knowledge

What is elaboration?

Engaging in issue-relevant thinking

In peripheral-route persuasion, what influences the outcomes of persuasive efforts?

Simple decision rules or heuristic principles. this is unconscious and implicit

Why does elaboration vary?

Sometimes, we carefully scrutinize arguments reflect on issue-relevant considerations, and really think about messages, but often times we do not We simply don't have the mental capacity to do this for every message we see

What is the peripheral route to persuasion?

When elaboration is low It comes because the receiver employs a simple decision rule to evaluate the advocated position They find a heuristic to judge the message and use it: if they like the communicator, if they find the communicator credible, etc Receivers rely on peripheral cues as guides to attitude and belief instead of actually thinking

Under what conditions does credibility have relatively greater influence on persuasive outcomes?

When there is little personal relevance to a topic And when elaboration likelihood is relatively low

Under what conditions will the consensus heuristic have relatively greater influence on persuasive outcomes?

When there is little personal relevance to the topic When elaboration likelihood is low

Under what conditions does liking have relatively greater influence on persuasive outcomes?

When there is little personal relevance to the topic When elaboration likelihood is low When liking cue salience is high

How is persuasion achieved through the two routes different?

With high elaboration, persuasion is more likely to be persistent, indicative of intention and behavior, and be more resistant against counter-persuasion

Do variations in the amount of elaboration form a continuum or discrete categories?

A continuum from cases of high elaboration to no elaboration

Where can persuasion occur?

Anywhere on the elaboration continuum, persuasion just differs as degree of elaboration varies

Explain how involvement (personal relevance of the topic) influences elaboration motivation.

As an issue becomes more personally relevant to a receiver, their motivation to engage in elaboration increases They are more invested

Identify three differences in the consequences of persuasion's being achieved through one or the other route.

Attitude change achieved through the central route is more persistent over time. It's also more persisted to counter persuasion More strongly related to intentions and behaviors

What is the credibility heuristic? Explain how it works

Based on the credibility of the communicator and the belief that "statements by credible sources can be trusted" If someone has low elaboration and finds a communicator to be generally trustworthy and credible, they will likely accept their message based on this rule

What is the consensus heuristic? Explain how it works.

Based on the reactions of other people to the message, aligning with the belief that "if other people believe it, then it's probably true." If people see other people agreeing with a message, they are more likely to agree

Generally, how should persuasion then be adapted to the elaboration continuum?

For high elaboration items, such as those personally relevant, the central route should be used For low elaboration items, the peripheral route should be used

What is the key to adapting persuasive messages to ELM?

For high-elaboration recipients, effective persuasion rests on strong arguments When elaboration is low, persuasion rests on utilizing engaged heuristics

What is the liking heuristic? Explain how it works.

How well the receiver likes the communicator and aligns with the belief "people should agree with people they like" People are more likely to agree with communicators they find likable under this principle

What is elaboration motivation?

How willing someone is to engage in elaboration

Identify two factors that influence elaboration direction (valence).

If it is pro-attitudinal or counter-attitudinal The strength of the message's arguments Other factors are mood and warning of upcoming counterattitudinal messages

How is resistance to counterpersuasion different?

If something is more closely scrutinized, people are more likely to retain the view even when presented with counter evidence

How is the strength of the relationship of attitudes to intentions and behaviors different?

If something is more closely scrutinized, people are more likely to truly absorb it and use it to make decisions

How is the persistence of persuasion different?

If something is more closely scrutinized, persuasive effects are more likely to remain over lasting time

Explain how the message's pro-attitudinal or counterattitudinal position influences elaboration direction.

If the advocated message is one towards which the receiver is already positively inclined (pro-attitudinal) the receiver will be inclined to have favorable thoughts about the position advocated When they are already negatively included, and the message is then counter-attitudinal, receivers will have unfavorable thoughts about the view being advocated One can expect pro-attitudinal messages to evoke predominantly favorable thoughts and counterattitudinal messages to evoke predominantly unfavorable thoughts

Explain how distraction influences elaboration ability.

In conditions that would otherwise produce high elaboration, distraction results in less issue-relevant thinking This works positively and negatively: If someone would be inclined to favorable elaboration, distraction can reduce the effectiveness of persuasive messages by interfering with this elaboration But if someone would be inclined to negative elaboration, then distraction can enhance effectiveness of a message by interfering with negative thoughts

In what 3 ways might a variable affect persuasion under ELM?

Influence the degree of elaboration Influence how much central or peripheral routes are used Serve as a peripheral cue Influence peripheral route outcomes Might influence the valence of elaboration Influence central route outcomes

Identify a circumstance in which distraction might reduce persuasive effectiveness, and one in which it might enhance persuasive effectiveness.

It might reduce persuasive effectiveness when argument strength is high, it is pro-attitudinal, and elaboration is high by reducing elaboration It might enhance persuasive effectiveness when argument strength is low, it is counterattitudinal, and elaboration is high by reducing elaboration

How does the unimodel model of persuasion counter the ELM?

It says that both modes in ELM are similar and come from reasoning from evidence to conclusions, just using different types of evidence This would mean there is only one real route, just either using superficial cues or arguments In research, reliance on superficial cures varies based on ELM factors If you control for complexity, arguments and cues have similar effects

Does increasing elaboration mean increasing persuasion? (That is, does increasing the receiver's degree of elaboration mean increasing how much the receiver is persuaded?)

No. although a higher degree of elaboration is better for long-term, real persuasion, this is not true For counterattitudinal messages, there must be very strong arguments, and there is often concern that argument quality will not overcome recipients inclination to counter-argue

What is elaboration ability? Identify two factors influencing elaboration ability.

One's simply ability to elaborate on an issue

Explain how the need for cognition influences elaboration motivation

People high in need for cognition report more issue relevant thoughts People high in need for cognition are more likely to be affected by the central route to persuasion They probably have a higher motivation to elaborate

What activates heuristic principles?

Peripheral cues, or the extrinsic features of a communication situation like characteristics of the communicator

What is the nature of involvement?

Personal relevance Outcome involvement Value involvement Possibly different kinds of processing

Identify two factors influencing elaboration motivation.

Personal relevance or involvement Need for cognition Also receiver's mood, attitudinal ambivalence, and perceived information sufficiency

Explain how distraction influences persuasive outcomes.

Sometimes, we want to distract people when we feel our arguments overcome recipients inclination to counter-argue For example, giving free dinner at a scam timeshare presentation serves as a distraction

Explain how prior knowledge influences elaboration ability.

The more extensive prior knowledge, the better able someone is to highly elaborate More prior knowledge, more susceptible to central route and less to peripheral Increasing strength of argument for people with high prior knowledge will enhance persuasion, but will not for people with low prior knowledge

Explain how argument quality influences elaboration direction.

The more favorable the reactions evoked by the scrutiny of message material, the more effective the message should be. If examination reveals bad evidence and reasoning one will not be persuaded. But if a close reading shows powerful arguments and good evidence/reasoning, people will be persuaded Under high elaboration, then, the strength of a message's argument should influence the evaluative direction of elaboration and persuasive success

In central-route persuasion, what is the key determinant of persuasive outcomes? Explain.

The outcomes of the receiver's thoughtful consideration of issue-relevant arguments Persuasive effects will depend on the predominant valence of the receiver's issue-relevant thoughts: to the extent that the receiver is led to have predominantly favorable thoughts about the advocated position, the message will be successful

What is the general rule of thumb for what role a variable will play?

The overall likelihood of elaboration When elaboration is low, if a variable affects attitude change, it is likely peripheral When elaboration is high, if a variable affects attitude change, it is likely influencing elaboration valence If elaboration is moderate, then the variable is likely affecting the degree of elaboration But everything uses multiple pathways

What is the central route to persuasion?

The persuasion processes involved when elaboration is high In the central route, persuasion comes from extensive issue-relevant thinking: careful examination of the information contained in the message, close scrutiny of the message's arguments, consideration of other issue relevant material Achieved through thoughtful consideration of issue-relevant considerations

What is "distraction"?

The presence of distracting stimulus accompanying a persuasive message

What is argument strength (quality)?

The results of elaborative scrutiny How strong a message's evidence, reasoning, and argument is

What is "need for cognition"?

The tendency of an individual to engage in and enjoy thinking Varies among people

How can the degree of elaboration be assessed?

The thought-listing technique Immediately after a persuasive technique, receivers are asked to list the thoughts that occurred to them during the communication process The number of issue-relevant thoughts is a rough index of issue-relevant thinking

How is argument strength problematic in the ELM?

There is no clear way to define argument strength Under ELM, a strong argument is defined as one more persuasive under high involvement This is circular, as it gives no independent definition of argument desirability It does, though, mention consequence desirability for argument

Explain the tradeoff between peripheral cues and elaboration direction as influences on persuasive outcomes.

They co-exist in much complexity. Every receiver is simultaneously using peripheral routes and central routes Every variable plays multiple roles For example, communicator attractiveness might operate as a peripheral cue, affecting the liking heuristic, but can also serve as an argument itself and thus influence elaboration valence. Then, increasing attractiveness could either help or hurt persuasion on the extent of elaboration: It can enhance persuasion if attractiveness is a peripheral cue that reduces scrutiny for a message with weak arguments; or if the beauty is a stronger argument itself Or it can hurt persuasion, if attractiveness encourages message scrutiny and the message is weak, or is attractiveness reduces scrutiny for a strong argument

What is a heuristic principle?

They represent simple decision procedures requiring little information processing

Are the consequences of central-route persuasion and peripheral-route persuasion identical?

no