Perpetrators are committed to wrongdoing due to four types of evils: individual, diabolical, superego, or institutional evil. Yet bystanders can be just as problematic. First, classic “bystander effect” is often linked to individual or ego-evil. Second, the dark side of human nature can advance bystander diabolism. Third, a law-abiding subject may be (mis)guided by their superego, taking comfort in inhuman bystander legalism. Fourth, institutional dynamics can spearhead bystander groupthink. The stories of Job and Jesus show that bystanders—whether active, passive, or interactive—often play an important role in human affairs. In the darkest hours, individuals can battle bystander evil due to their different attachment patterns and coping methods, championing upstander interventions at the individual or collective level.
AinsworthMaryBleharMaryWatersEverettWallSally. 1978. Patterns of Attachment. New York: Routledge.
2.
AquinasThomas. 1920. The “Summa Theologica” of St. Thomas Aquinas. London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne.
3.
ArendtHannah. 1994. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Penguin.
4.
AugustineAurelius. 1871. The City of God. Translated and edited by DodsRev. M.. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
5.
BanduraAlbert. 1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: Macmillan.
6.
BanyardVictoriaWeberMarceiaGrychJohnHambySherry. 2016. “Where Are the Helpful Bystanders? Ecological Niche and Victims – Perceptions of Bystander Intervention.” Journal of Community Psychology44, no. 2: 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21760.
7.
BelavichTimothy G.PargamentKenneth. 2002. “The Role of Attachment in Predicting Spiritual Coping with a Loved One in Surgery.” Journal of Adult Development9: 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013873100466.
BookAngelaVisserBeth A.BlaisJulieet al.2016. “Unpacking More ‘Evil’: What is at the Core of the Dark Tetrad?” Personality and Individual Differences90: 269-272. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.paid.2015.11.009.
10.
BowlbyJohn. 1969. Attachment and Loss. Vol. 1. New York: Basic Books.
BradshawMattEllisonChristopherMarcumJack. 2010. “Attachment to God, Images of God, and Psychological Distress in a Nationwide Sample of Presbyterians.” International Journal for the Psychology of Religion20, no. 2: 130-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508611003608049.
14.
Campos-MercadePol. 2021. “The Volunteer’s Dilemma Explains the Bystander Effect.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization186: 646-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.11.012.
ChabrolHenriMelioliTiffanyvan LeeuwenNikkiRodgersRachelGoutaudierNelly. 2015. “The Dark Tetrad: Identifying Personality Profiles in High-School Students.” Personality and Individual Differences83, no. 1: 97-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.051.
17.
ChenowethErica. 2021. Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
18.
DanielsonCarly M.2019. “Bystanders to College Bullying: An Application of the Bystander Intervention Model.” PhD diss., University of Minnesota.
19.
EmmerichAnne Catherine. 2003. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Translated and edited by BrentanoKlemens Maria. El Sobrante: North Bay Books.
20.
FeatherNorman T.1989. “Attitudes Toward the High Achievers: The Fall of the Tall Poppy.” Australian Journal of Psychology41, no. 3: 239-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049538908260088.
21.
FeatherNorman T.McKeeIan R.. 1993. “Global Self-Esteem and Attitudes Toward the High Achiever for Australian and Japanese Students.” Social Psychology Quarterly56, no. 1: 65-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022198296005.
22.
FischerPeterKruegerJoachimGreitemeyerTobias, et al.2011. “The Bystander-Effect: A Meta-Analytic Review on Bystander Intervention in Dangerous and Non-Dangerous Emergencies.” Psychological Bulletin137, no. 4: 517-537. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023304.
23.
FlynnAsherCamaElenaScottAdrian J.. 2022. Preventing Image-Based Abuse in Australia: The Role of Bystanders. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
24.
GranqvistPehrKirkpatrickLee. 2016. “Attachment and Religious Representations and Behavior.” In Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications, edited by ShaverJudeShaverPhilip, 203-933. New York: Guilford Press.
HoodRalph W.HillPeterSpilkaBernard. 2009. The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach, 4th ed.New York: Guilford Press.
29.
KantImmanuel. (1781) 1993. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by BeckLewis White. New York: Macmillan.
30.
KantImmanuel. (1784) 2003. “What is Enlightenment?” In The Enlightenment: A Sourcebook and Reader, edited by HaylandPaulGómezOlgaGreensidesFrancesca, 53-58. New York: Routledge.
31.
KantImmanuel. (1792) 1960. Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone. Translated with an introduction and notes by GreeneTheodore. M.HudsonHoyt. New York: Harper Torchbook.
32.
KirkpatrickLeeShaverPhilip R.. 1990. “Attachment Theory and Religion: Childhood Attachments, Religious Beliefs, and Conversion.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion29, no. 1: 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167292183002.
33.
KirkpatrickLeeShaverPhilip R.. 1992. “An Attachment Theoretical Approach to Romantic Love and Religious Belief.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin18, no. 1: 266–275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167292183002.
34.
LacanJacques. 1992. The Ethics of Psychoanalysis. Edited by MillerJ-A.; Translated by Dennis Porter. New York: Norton.
LatanéBibbDarleyJohn. 1970. The Unresponsive Bystander: Why Doesn’t He Help?Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
37.
MainMarySolomonJudith. 1991. “Procedures for Identifying Infants as Disorganized/Disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation.” In Attachment in the Preschool Years: Theory, Research, and Intervention, edited by GreenbergMark T.CicchettiDanteCummingsMark E., 121-160. University of Chicago Press.
38.
ManningRachelLevineMarkCollinsAlan. 2007. “The Kitty Genovese Murder and the Social Psychology of Helping: The Parable of the 38 Witnesses.” American Psychologist62, no. 6: 555-562. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.6.555.
39.
MiglioreSam. 1977. Mal’uocchiu: Ambiguity, Evil, and the Language of Distress. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
PargamentKenneth. 1997. The Psychology of Religion and Coping. New York: Guilford Press.
43.
PargamentKennethKennellJosephHathawayWilliamGrevengoedNancyNewmanJonJonesWendy. 1988. “Religion and the Problem-Solving Process: Three Styles of Coping.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion27, no. 1: 90-104. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.2307/1387404.
44.
PaulusDelroyWilliamsKevin. 2002. “The Dark Triad of Personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy.” Journal of Research in Personalit36, no. 1: 556-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6.
45.
PiliavinJane Allyn. 1981. Emergency Intervention. New York: Academic Press.
46.
PiliavinIrving M.RodinJudithPiliavinJane Allyn. 1969. “Good Samaritanism: An Underground Phenomenon?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology13, no. 4: 289-299. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0028433.
47.
RosanderMichaelNielsenMorten. 2023. “Perceived Ability to Defend Oneself Against Negative Treatment at Work: Gender Differences and Different Types of Bullying Behaviors.” Applied Psychology72, no. 4: 1430-1448. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12443.
48.
RowattWade C.LeeKirkpatrick. 2002. “Two Dimensions of Attachment to God and their Relation to Affect, Religiosity, and Personality Constructs.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion41, no. 4: 637-651. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/1468-5906.00143.
49.
SchillingerThomas. 2008. “Bystander Effect and Religious Group Affiliation: Terrorism and the Diffusion of Responsibility.” PhD diss., Walden University.
50.
ShawJulia. 2019. Making Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side. Edinburgh: Canongate.
51.
SölleDorothee. 1975. Suffering. Translated by E.R. Kalin. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
52.
StaubErvin. 2013. Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism. New York: Oxford University Press.
