Introduction

Within the past decade, there has been an intensified concern about pervasive and serious harmdoing that has drawn the attention of researchers. The primary objective of this special issue is to consider the contributions of social and personality psychology toward understanding the perception of sustained harmdoing and to assess the implications (theoretical, methodological, and philosophical) for the field of undertaking research in this area. The authors represented in this issue have each made significant contributions to the study of harmdoing and evil, and their articles deal with a variety of conceptual and empirical perspectives on harmdoing.