Good cop, bad cop, also informally called the Mutt and Jeff technique,
[The Phrase Finder]
/ref> is a psychological tactic used in 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 informa ...
and negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...
, in which a team of two people take opposing approaches to the 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
The Reid technique is a method of interrogation after investigation and behavior analysis. The system was developed in the United States by John E. Reid in the 1950s. Reid was a polygraph expert and former Chicago police officer. The technique i ...
.
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 Mental distress, distress or need of another life form.
According to philosopher David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspe ...
(or even empathy
Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...
) 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
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit
* Trust (bu ...
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.
See also
*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 interrogatio ...
*Carrot and stick
The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for when two different methods of incentivisation are simultaneously employed; the "carrot", referring to the promising and giving of desired rewards in exchange for cooperation; and the "stick", refe ...
* Officer Friendly, a good-cop character used to promote police to children
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good cop bad cop
Deception
Interrogation techniques
Law enforcement techniques
Stock characters
Psychological manipulation
Dichotomies