Why+People+Won't+Switch

__**Why People Won't Switch**__

Holweda is concerned with why normal computer users don’t switch from the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) to one of the better alternatives on the market. Holweda proclaims that this phenomenon can simply be explained by using Petty’s Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM).

The ELM is a model that presumes that in order for a person’s attitude towards something to change, it must travel through one of two routes: a central or a peripheral route. The central route involves a great deal of thought and high involvement from the individual. A person travels down the peripheral route when they rely on external factors, such as credibility or attractiveness, to help make their decision.

It is important to note that either route will not lead to the same result. An attitude change via the central route is deeper and more resistant to counter-persuasion than an attitude change via the peripheral route. Another part to consider is motivation and ability, factors that determine which route will be taken. Holweda took a look at Petty’s ELM diagram to determine which route normal users often take. By looking at the diagram, it can be seen what it takes for an individual to travel through one of the routes: motivation behind the attitude and the ability to comprehend the given message.

Holweda says that there are several factors that influence motivation, but the two most important are involvement and the need for cognition. Involvement is refereeing to the relevancy to the individuals life. Holweda is asking whether or not it matters what operating system the individual is running and does it matter if the individual cares or understands about the technicalities of the Windows OS compared to another operating system.

There are also several things that effect the ability to understand the message from environmental distractions to cognitive ability. Environmental distractions can include time pressures, watching TV while receiving the message. Cognitive ability includes education level and experience with the subject of the message.

By using the ELM flow chart and looking at the motivation and ability factors, Holweda came to understand why normal computer users are apt to switch from the Windows OS to a better operating system.

Advocates of other operating systems often try to appeal to the central route of processing with other computer users. Advocates of other operating systems are will try to appeal to another user and this usually entails many technicalities that might not be understood by the normal computer user. This means that the normal computer user does not have the ability to understand why Mac OS or the Linux OS is better than Windows. Also, the normal computer user might not care what operating system their computer is running because their computer might not be as important to them as it is to a heavy computer user.

In this case, we have an advocate for one operating system attempting to convince a user of another operating system to make the change. The sender of the message is a heavy computer user and considers their computer and the operating system it runs important. The receiver of the message is only a normal computer user and doesn’t understand the technicalities of their operating system. As long as their operating system is doing what they need, they are happy. The heavy user is trying to appeal to the central route of persuasion, but due to a lack of ability and motivation, the normal user is processing their message via the peripheral route. The message will therefore only have a temporary attitude change, or none at all and the message has failed.

This study shows that we can apply the elaboration likelihood model to many kinds of situations to understand why a message is or is not affecting its intended audience. The ELM can also be used to help predict attitude changes. A sender of a message can alter their message by knowing whether or not our audience has the motivation or ability to process a message. Apple would not advertise the technical specification superiorities of their operating system over Windows on a primetime sitcom because they know from the ELM that their message would fail to be processed via the correct route. They would be better served by running an ad in a computer magazine where the audience would be more interested in technical specifications. Instead, they can alter their message by playing cool music in the background, featuring a cool spokesperson, and expressing the company’s credibility, which they have done in recent ads. Apple has been successful because they know how to shape their messages to appeal to their audiences’ routes of persuasion.

Source: Holwerda, T. (2006) The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Why People Won’t Switch. //OS News//. Retrieved from: []