In practical terms, the model suggests that when a person seeks to change
another person's attitudes, the elaboration likelihood of the persuasion situation
should be assessed (i.e., how likely is it that the other person will be motivated
and able to think about the message?). If elaboration likelihood is high, and if
there are compelling arguments to present, the central route may be the best
strategy to pursue. This is the most ideal strategy, because a relatively permanent
change in attitudes will be produced. On the other hand, if the only arguments
available are weak, or if elaboration likelihood is low, then the peripheral route
will be a more promising strategy.

In this chapter we have suggested that all of the approaches to attitude change
discussed in chapters 2-8 of this text can be represented as two distinct routes
to persuasion. An elaboration-likelihood model was presented that mapped the
two routes, with the central route emphasizing a thoughtful consideration of
issue-relevant argumentation and the peripheral route emphasizing the impor-
tance of issue-irrelevant cues. The accumulated literature on persuasion suggests
that changes induced via the central route tend to endure, but changes induced
via the peripheral tend to decay unless the new attitude is subsequently bolstered
by issue-relevant thought.

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