This is usually a team strategy in which one person plays the “bad cop” role and the other person the “good cop”. The bad cop usually initiates the negotiation with tactics to intentionally frighten and bully. The good cop then comes to the rescue and offers the other side an escape from this abuse. This scenario is also known as the Hurt and Rescue Principle, by where one person brings harm and the other saves the day.
The Good cop/Bad Cop can also be played by one person, if they start things off harshly, and then they act pleasant and apologize for their past behavior.
One reason why this technique is often effective in interrogation and sales situation is that offers the other side a time to comply, without making it seem they are giving in to a bully. The other side may comply simply to show the bully that his tactics don’t work, but being pleasant does.
Example
Both parents want their teenage daughter home by her 10:00 PM curfew. For the last few nights, she has come home late. Her mom burst into her room, as she is getting ready to go out with friends, demanding that she is home on time otherwise she will face severe consequences. These scare tactics haven’t worked in the past, but the mom doesn’t know what else to do.
As the girl is getting ready to go out the door, the dad tries a more gentle approach and asks his daughter that she please come home tonight. He says that he stays up worrying about her when she is gone too long and he would like for her to keep going out with her friends. If she doesn’t comply her mom will be keeping her at home for a while. This approach seemed to get through to his daughter. That night she walks s through the door ten minutes early!
