elaboration

Elaboration is the act of adding details, explanations, or expansions to something. It can refer to the process of developing an idea beyond its basic form, increasing its complexity, or clarifying its meaning. In everyday language, elaboration involves supplying examples, evidence, or background information to support a statement.

In writing and rhetoric, elaboration is a technique used to enhance a claim by providing more specifics, reasons, and illustrations. It can improve comprehension and persuasiveness, but excessive elaboration may obscure the main point.

In psychology and education, elaborative encoding refers to linking new information to existing knowledge, creating richer memory traces. Elaborative rehearsal, distinct from maintenance rehearsal, involves active processing. The theory of Levels of Processing posits that deeper, more elaborated encoding leads to better recall. Teachers use elaboration to foster understanding, such as asking learners to explain ideas in their own words or connect new concepts to prior knowledge.

In persuasion, elaboration is central to the central route of the elaboration likelihood model, where recipients scrutinize arguments, evaluate evidence, and adjust attitudes; the peripheral route bypasses detailed processing. Elaboration increases enduring attitude change when arguments are strong and personally relevant.

In linguistics and discourse, elaboration can denote cohesion and expansion of discourse through devices such as exemplification, description, and causal linking, creating more complete narratives.