Individuals are more likely to be influenced by the peripheral route when they are not highly motivated to process a message, or when they lack the ability to process the information thoroughly. This route to persuasion relies on superficial cues, such as the attractiveness of the source, the number of arguments presented (rather than the quality), or emotional appeals. For example, a consumer might purchase a product endorsed by a celebrity without carefully considering the product’s features or comparing it to alternatives.
The inclination to utilize this cognitive pathway offers adaptive benefits by enabling individuals to make quick decisions when cognitive resources are limited or when the topic is not personally relevant. Understanding this process is crucial in fields such as marketing, advertising, and political communication, where influencing attitudes and behaviors is a central goal. Its historical roots lie in the development of dual-process models of persuasion in social psychology, highlighting the interplay between thoughtful and less effortful routes to attitude change.
