It was originated by Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo in the 1980s.
The ELM suggests there are two routes to persuasion.
The central route involves thinking about the merits of the argument and weighing the pros and cons.
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Persuasion via the central route leads to long-lasting change.
The central and peripheral route mark the two extremes on the elaboration continuum.
A person may occupy various points in between the two ends of the spectrum, however.. ## The Central Route to Persuasion
The central route to persuasion is used when elaboration is high.
This route is used whenmotivationandabilityare high.
When people are persuaded through the central route, attitudes are particularly strong.
The Peripheral Route to Persuasion
The peripheral route topersuasionis used when elaboration is low.
This creates attitude change that tends not to last.
When health officials used appeals that matched the individuals valuesand thosevaluesare important to the individualthey would wear a mask.
An example of this might be appealing to the desire to protect vulnerable children or elderly relatives.
An example of this might be insisting that wearing a mask is actually fashionable.
Both of these instances involve persuasion via the central route and therefore were more likely to be enduring.
This lack of a clear and consistent framework make it very difficult to test and falsify the ELM.
The majority of studies test elaboration likelihood under three separate conditions: low, moderate, and high.
However, there are no studies that account for the entire continuum.
Third, the dual-path nature of the model has been an issue since the ELM was first introduced.
Finally, mediatingvariablesin the ELM remain an issue.
White HA.Elaboration Likelihood Model.
2014;48(11/12):2033-2050. doi:10.1108/EJM-12-2011-07776
