There's no cure for that...

The rise of Donald Trump isn't hard to figure out. What's keeping him in the race is a bit more difficult to explain.

There's no secret to the rise of Donald Trump.

He says all those things many people have thought for years but they couldn't say due to political correctness.

The thoughts and feelings didn't go away. The ability to speak them did.

Donald Trump changed that.

He said what others thought and felt. And they rallied behind him.

Then came the revelations of wrongdoing and the misogyny and xenophobia and racist comments and hateful rhetoric.

What might have killed the campaigns of other politicians only made Trump stronger.

Bobby Azarian, PhD., explains this phenomenon by citing Republican Senator and one time presidential candidate John McCain:

"What he did was he fired up the crazies," McCain said.

But, it's more than that and Dr. Azarian digs in and explains his theory on why Trump has gained strength:

1. The Dunning-Kruger Effect
2. Hypersensitivity to Threat
3. Terror Management Theory
4. High Attentional Engagement

"The Dunning-Kruger Effect explains that the problem isn’t just that they are misinformed; it’s that they are completely unaware that they are misinformed," Azarian wrote. "This creates a double burden."

In other words, when Trump says crime rates are skyrocketing, his supporters believe him. Despite factual evidence proving otherwise, Trump's supporters dismiss that evidence and believe what they're told by Trump because of another phenomenon, Cognitive Bias.

Trump believes he knows more than the Generals about ISIS. His supporters don't know the truth so they believe Trump. It's baffling.

Azarian states it best:

"Out of immense frustration, some of us may feel the urge to shake a Trump supporter and say,  'Hey! Don’t you realize that he’s an idiot?!' No. They don’t. That may be hard to fathom, but that’s the nature of the Dunning-Kruger effect — one’s ignorance is completely invisible to them."

Hypersensitivity to Threat in conservatives has been exploited by Republicans for decades.

Just look back at the speeches from the Republican National Convention. At the time, I suggested we remove, "Home of the Brave," from the National Anthem because Republicans are afraid of everything.

There is science to back up the theory that conservatives are naturally more prone to fear than their political counterparts.

Azarian explains this too:

"A 2008 study in the journal Science found that conservatives have a stronger physiological reaction to startling noises and graphic images compared to liberals. A brain-imaging study published in Current Biology revealed that those who lean right politically tend to have a larger amygdala — a structure that is electrically active during states of fear and anxiety."

To explain how this scientific discovery helps Trump (and Republicans in general):

"These brain responses are automatic, and not influenced by logic or reason. As long as Trump continues his fear mongering by constantly portraying Muslims and Mexican immigrants as imminent dangers, many conservative brains will involuntarily light up like light bulbs being controlled by a switch. Fear keeps his followers energized and focused on safety. And when you think you’ve found your protector, you become less concerned with remarks that would normally be seen as highly offensive."

Terror Management Theory is another scientific theory related to fear mongering.

"Terror Management Theory predicts that when people are reminded of their own mortality, which happens with fear mongering, they will more strongly defend those who share their worldviews and national or ethnic identity, and act out more aggressively towards those who do not. Hundreds of studies have confirmed this hypothesis, and some have specifically shown that triggering thoughts of death tends to shift people towards the right. Not only do death reminders increase nationalism, they influence actual voting habits in favor of more conservative presidential candidates. And more disturbingly, in a study with American students, scientists found that making mortality salient increased support for extreme military interventions by American forces that could kill thousands of civilians overseas. Interestingly, the effect was present only in conservatives, which can likely be attributed to their heightened fear response."

High Attentional Engagement again reveals a lot about Trump supporters.

"Essentially, the loyalty of Trump supporters may in part be explained by America’s addiction with entertainment and reality TV. To some, it doesn’t matter what Trump actually says because he’s so amusing to watch. With Donald, you are always left wondering what outrageous thing he is going to say or do next. He keeps us on the edge of our seat, and for that reason, some Trump supporters will forgive anything he says. They are happy as long as they are kept entertained."

 Sadly, Azarian realizes there isn't much hope in curing these folks:

"As a cognitive neuroscientist, it grieves me to say that there may be nothing we can do," he said. "The overwhelming majority of these people may be beyond reach, at least in the short term."

Check out his entire piece. It is very interesting.