President Trump’s trade war doesn’t seem to be going well. Corporations have already left the United States, and our agricultural sector is already beginning to feel economic strain. However, despite these and potentially more disastrous consequences, the president’s actions are still receiving widespread support, and the cry among his supporters remains “trust Trump!”

A clue to the origins of the trade war’s support can be seen in a recent Newsweek article where a soybean farmer who “claimed that [Trump’s] trade policies were negatively impacting [his] bottom lines” was asked “how far he’d go” in his continued support of the president’s policy, despite the personal consequences. The farmer responded “the Scottish in me says, to the death.” This response suggests that support for the president’s trade policies may be rooted in what social psychology calls honor ideology.

Honor Ideology and the Culture of Honor

The psychological construct of honor emerged from the study of the Scots and their descendants who settled the 18th-century American frontier, the same people referenced by the soybean farmer. Initially focused on the American South, the study of honor has since expanded to see honor as a more universal phenomenon, evolving under certain conditions, namely (1) a harsh, resource-scarce environment and (2) a lack of meaningful law enforcement. In such circumstances, individuals must often ensure their own survival against threats to their resources by maintaining an “honorable” reputation.

Here, the word “honorable” takes on a different meaning than it might have in the popular mindset. In social psychology, to be known as “honorable” means to be perceived as strong, to be well-regarded by peers, and most of all, to be known as someone who it is very, very dangerous to cross. Indeed, one of the most fundamental parts of an honor culture, and its resulting ideology, is what is known as the lex talionis, or “rule of retribution,” a willingness and obligation to risk life and well-being in the defense of one’s honor. This is because in an honor culture, reputation is fundamental to survival. Without an honorable reputation, you and your family may be seen as vulnerable and open to theft or assault. Thus, honor endorsers are notoriously ruthless in the defense of their reputation, being willing to respond to even minor slights with as much ferocity as they might an actual assault.