Good cop, bad cop

"Good cop" redirects here. For the British television show, see Good Cop.
For other uses, see Good cop bad cop (disambiguation).

Good cop, bad cop, also informally called the Mutt and Jeff technique,[1] is a psychological tactic used in interrogation and negotiation, in which a team of two people take opposing approaches to the subject.[2] 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.[3] It is an instance of the Reid technique.[4]

  1. ^ The Phrase Finder. "Mutt and Jeff"
  2. ^ Susan Brodt; Marla Tuchinsky (March 2000). "Working Together but in Opposition: An Examination of the "Good-Cop/Bad-Cop" Negotiating Team Tactic". Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 81 (2): 155–177. doi:10.1006/obhd.1999.2879. PMID 10706812.
  3. ^ Shonk, Katie (January 7, 2020). "The Good Cop, Bad Cop Negotiation Strategy". Harvard University. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 1983. pp. 26–27. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2021.