Perhaps, significantly, we are afraid of taking responsibility for the consequences of ourselves, our works, and our social relationships when we stand up and take action, especially when it requires us to go against our members in the social groups. However, we may balance these effects if we know what we need to do. Since Martin Luther King Jr. claimed, "History will record that the greatest tragedy of this transitional period was not the shrill screams of the bad guys, but the appalling silence of the good guys."
Basically, when our identities are clearly visible to other members of our groups, we don't want to look like worthless individuals as we don't react to the person in distress. It's this psychological factor that often prevents us from taking action in an emergency, which can make us more proactive in helping if we believe that inaction will make our image worse.
Most of us assume that bad behaviors are done by bad guys, but good guys also engage in bad behaviors from time to time. Silence can create evil. Silence does not make us innocent, which is based on the latest research in psychology and neuroscience to explore an alarming question: Why do so many of us fail to intervene when necessary – and what will make us act?