The Elaboration Likelihood Model illustrates two routes to persuasion: the central route and peripheral route. The central route involves carefully considering factual messages supported by evidence and leads to longer-lasting attitudes. The peripheral route involves emotional appeals that have a more temporary effect. Motivation and ability affect which route is taken, with high motivation and ability leading to central route processing and low motivation and ability leading to peripheral route processing. Motivation depends on message relevance, need for cognition, and purchase responsibility.

2. Communication Process: The
Elaboration Likelihood Model
The elaboration likelihood model illustrates the
two routes to message persuasion.
1. central route
2. Peripheral Route

3. • Given central route processing, factual
messages are likely to be effective. Messages
are remembered because they contain quality
arguments, substantiated by convincing
evidence
• Given peripheral route processing, emotional
appeals may make a positive impact—by
making the consumer feel good, for example.
However, the impression these messages
make is temporary and can be easily forgotten
or changed by competitive messages.

4. Two conditions affect elaboration
likelihood—motivation and ability.
• Consumers are likely to process cognitively—think
about—a message if they are motivated to do so and if
they are able to clearly distinguish among the product
benefits it promises.
• If consumers are not motivated to process the
message and are not able to distinguish its merits, they
are more likely to absorb it peripherally than centrally.
• Thus, given a highly motivated audience of consumers
who are willing to expend cognitive effort to process
marketing information, factual messages work best.
Low motivation and low cognitive ability mean
emotional appeals will be more effective.

5. Motivation to process the message
depends on the following three
factors:• message relevance,
• need for cognition,
• purchase responsibility
• Message Relevance
• What is the message relevance to the consumer? Suppose an
engineer who uses various kinds of computer software in her work
sees an advertisement for a new software package. Because it
might help her advance in her career, this consumer is likely to be
motivated to process a factual message about the product. Contrast
the homemaker who uses the computer for little more than paying
bills and personal correspondence. If persuaded to buy the product
at all, this consumer is more likely to respond to an emotional
rather than a factual appeal.

6. • Need for Cognition
• Does the consumer have a high need for cognition? Continuing the
previous example, the homemaker may be motivated to process a
factual message if she is the type of person who is curious about
computers in general and therefore has a high need to know and
understand.
• Purchase Responsibility
• Who has purchase responsibility? Does the consumer feel that he
or she is ultimately responsible for making an effective decision?
Suppose an organization decides to purchase new computer
software to automate its outdated accounting system. An employee
assigned to evaluate different programs will obviously feel
responsible for the decision and will therefore examine relevant
information very closely and respond well to factual appeals. If the
responsibility is diffused among several employees or to a
committee, motivation to process factual messages weakens. The
lack of personal responsibility leads to peripheral processing,
through which emotional appeals are likely to be more effective.

8. Some Videos on ELM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNAPiZMgPQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd6jveosFCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcs4Q-4GITA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E94Kz2SpWEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNXpnKV0Njg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pk07lQS3gs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqT_dPApj9U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dX7Ec5IvcE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukKBgo6AhwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A45sjUX7mp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_4vOUDImE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-oVg_Ga4Ks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eekrb4wJl-k