A photosensitive layer contains an electron-transfer agent that makes use of a compound represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR00001## wherein R.sub.1 through R.sub.4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, cyano, nitro, halogen, hydroxyl, alkyl, aryl, heterocyclic ring, ester, alkoxy, aralkyl, allyl, amide, amino, acyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, carboxyl, carbonyl, and carboxylic acid; X is selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur, and .dbd.C(CN).sub.2; and W is a 4- to 8-membered ring.