| Abstract: | Two cases are presented to illustrate how psychological knowledge and technology have been used in Venezuela. The first case relates to the use of psychological technology in Venezuelan politics where it is possible to identify a change from “caudillismo” to a more democratic “voting against” political culture. There is evidence that imported political compaigning techniques and extensive use of polling have been a factor of some importance in such change. The second case refers to the activities of the Minister for the Development of Intelligence, who has started a group of projects to improve cognitive functioning in different age groups. These programs are too recent to ascertain their effectiveness; so data is reported on an opinionative evaluation of one of the projects, carried out among Venezuelan psychologists and pediatricians. |
