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7. MASS MEDIA ATTITUDE CHANGE 185

Consequences of Multiple Roles. Although we have only provided
illustrative examples of particular source, message, and recipient vari-
ables, the accumulated studies support the ELM notion that variables can
serve in different roles in different situations (see Petty & Wegener, 1998a).
That is, various source, message, and recipient variables have been shown
to influence attitudes as: (a) a peripheral cue under low-elaboration likeli-
hood conditions, (b) a determinant of the extent of thinking about the
message under moderate elaboration conditions, (c) a message argument
when the variable was relevant to the attitude object and elaboration was
high, and finally, depending on whether the variable was introduced
before or after the message to (d) bias message processing, or to (e) influ-
ence confidence in one’s message-relevant cognitive responses.
Because any one variable can produce persuasion in multiple ways, it is
important to understand the process by which the variable has influenced a
person’s attitude. For example, our discussion of the two routes to persua-
sion suggests that if a good mood has produced persuasion by serving as a
simple cue under low-elaboration conditions, the attitude induced will be
less accessible, less persistent, less resistant, and less predictive of behavior
than if a good mood produced the same amount of persuasion, but worked
by increasing positive thoughts to the message arguments under high-
elaboration conditions. In empirical research on media campaigns in a vari-
ety of domains (see Rice & Atkin, 1989), many source, message, recipient,
and contextual variables have been examined. Relatively little attention has
been paid, however, to the processes by which these variables work. The
ELM holds that the variables that determine persuasion can work by differ-
ent processes in different situations, and that the process, central or periph-
eral, by which the variable induces change is critical for understanding the
consequences of any attitude change that occurs (see Fig. 7.2).

Directions for Future Research

Thus far we have reviewed evidence that has supported the primary ELM
postulates about the processes responsible for attitude change. Before
addressing the links between attitude change and behavior change, it is
useful to consider where some future basic research on persuasion
processes might be directed. We explained that an important factor in the
ELM is how much thinking a person is motivated or able to engage in
regarding an attitude issue. Because of this, most of the research on the
ELM to date has focused on variables that initiate message processing.
Little attention has been paid to variables that determine when that pro-
cessing will stop. Because most of the messages used in laboratory
research are relatively short (e.g., 1–3 minutes; 1–2 pages of text), it is
likely that once individuals embark on the central route, they will con-
tinue to think about the message until the message ends. On the other