 To answer these questions game theoretic tools have been used to characterize the underlying social dynamics that give rise to the practice in question, and to then illustrate how the practice is responsive to these dynamics. A dynamic common to several of these practices is the role norms play in signaling a group’s commitment to certain values or courses of action. For example, in the case of honor killing, when these killings target members of an outgroup, they might deter future slights at the hands of the outgroup by signaling the ingroup’s commitment to seeking revenge for (real or perceived) slights (Boehm 1986; Nisbett &amp; Cohen 1996; Skarbek 2014; Thrasher &amp; Handfield 2018). This can be especially important in the absence of strong institutions that maintain public order. However, one thing that makes honor norms bad, is that a group’s commitment to seeking revenge for slights can risk setting off (or perpetuating) a cycle of violence.