ABSTRACT
People orchestrating social change efforts benefit from various social influence strategies, among which persuasion is key. The Elaboration Likelihood Model is articulated and applied to social change. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, persuasion variables can influence people when they are highly motivated/able to process (high elaboration), not motivated/able to process (low elaboration), or are in an indeterminate state of processing capability (moderate elaboration). Research demonstrates how distinct processes explain the effects of persuasion variables at each level of elaboration likelihood. We use research that examined social change topics and provide examples of social change applications to show that the Elaboration Likelihood Model provides a useful explanatory guide to producing influential, lasting social change.
