Dual routes or a one-way to persuasion? The elaboration likelihood model versus the unimodel
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), as a dual-process approach to theorizing attitude formation and persuasion phenomena, has garnered popularity and praise since its inception by Petty and Cacioppo in 1979. Nevertheless, several accounts pointing to some deficiencies of the ELM have ultimately emerged. Particularly, the ELM limitations paved the way for the introduction of an alternative model of persuasion, namely the unimodel. In this paper, by confronting these two competing persuasion models, we endeavor to bring about an answer to the ubiquitous question of whether the attitude change phenomenon is better explained by a single- or dual-process. The main outcomes of this confrontation are: (1) the unimodel cannot rectify the alleged conceptual limitations of the ELM, (2) the unimodel does not explain aspects of persuasion that cannot be allowed by the ELM, (3) the qualitative distinction between persuasion processes is very instrumental in understanding when and how attitude change occurs, (4) a single-process view cannot actually advance our understanding the persuasion phenomenon, and (5) the so-called conceptual limitations of the ELM are invalid. Accordingly, the article concludes in favor of the ELM as a major contribution to explaining attitude change and persuasion phenomena.
Other Information
Published in: Journal of Marketing Communications
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2022.2034033
Funding
Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.
History
Language
- English
Publisher
RoutledgePublication Year
- 2022
License statement
This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Institution affiliated with
- Qatar University
- College of Business and Economics - QU