The importance of responsibility in the third millennium is increasing. The rise of new technologies and related environmental hazards, the problem of the neglect of the poor and old, and the increase in aggression indicate that respon­sibility is the characteristic which is critical for the survival of modern democratic structures.

Part I. Introduction 1. Responsibility as a fundamental human phenomenon Hans-Werner Bierhoff and Ann Elisabeth AuhagenPart II. Basic Issues and Domains of Responsibility 2. Philosophical foundations of responsibility Dieter Birnbacher 3. Responsibility: a biological perspective Robert A. Hinde 4. Toward a broader psychological foundation for responsibility: who, what, how Kelly G. Shaver and Deborah A. Schutte 5. An attributional approach to perceived responsibility for transgressions: extensions to child abuse, punishment goals and political ideology Bernard Weiner 6. Responsibility in everyday life Ann Elisabeth Auhagen 7. Denial of responsibility Leo MontadaPart III. Applications of Responsibility 8. Responsibility and technology Hans Lenk and Matthias Maring 9. Responsibility and ecological behaviour - a meta-analysis of the strength and the extent of a causal link Florian G. Kaiser, Urs Fuhrer, Olaf Weber, Thomas Ofner and Evelina Bühler-Ilieva 10. Responsibility appraisals of health protection Elisabeth Kals 11. Responsibility in work organisations L. Alan Witt 12. Responsibility and altruism: the role of volunteerism Hans-Weber Bierhoff 13. Responsibility and reactions to the disadvantaged Manfred Schmitt, Barbara Reichle and Jürgen MaesPart IV. Perspectives 14. Responsibility at the Beginning of the Third Millennium Ann Elisabeth Auhagen and Hans-Weber Bierhoff