Elaboration Likelihood Model

According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model of attitude change, people are more likely to carefully process persuasive messages when they are motivated and capable of considering all available information. So, if someone watches a political debate with great interest and attention they are more likely to evaluate the candidates and their arguments based on merit and to be more thoughtful about their evaluations. But if they watch a debate on a topic they’re not interested in or they don’t understand, they will evaluate the arguments based on other cues such as the emotional tone of the message or the physical attractiveness of the candidate.