Good cop/bad cop is a psychological tactic used in
negotiation and
interrogation
Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful inf ...
, in which a team of two people take opposing approaches interrogating their subject. One interrogator adopts a hostile or accusatory demeanor, emphasizing threats of punishment, while the other adopts a more sympathetic demeanor, emphasizing reward, in order to convince the subject to cooperate. It is an instance of the
Reid technique.
Technique
The "bad cop" takes an aggressive, negative stance towards the subject, making blatant accusations, derogatory comments, threats, and in general creating
antipathy
Antipathy is a dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved.
Thus, the ori ...
with the subject. This sets the stage for the "good cop" to act sympathetically, appearing supportive and understanding, and in general showing
sympathy
Sympathy is the perception of, understanding of, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. According to David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspective to the perspective of an ...
for the subject. The good cop defends the subject from the bad cop. The subject may feel able to cooperate with the good cop, either out of
trust or out of fear of the bad cop and may then seek protection by the good cop and provide the information the interrogators are seeking. The order can also be reversed. When performed in this manner, the good cop will try to gain a subject's trust. If that fails, the bad cop will intimidate the subject to make them crack under pressure.
The disadvantage of this technique is that it can be easily identified, and the "bad cop" may alienate the subject.
See also
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False confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interroga ...
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Carrot and stick
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Officer Friendly Officer Friendly is a model program to acquaint children and young adults with law enforcement officials as a part of a community relations campaign. The program was especially popular in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, but it continu ...
, a good-cop character used to promote police to children
References
External links
Deception
Interrogation techniques
Law enforcement techniques
Stock characters
Psychological manipulation
Dichotomies
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