Dorothy Rowe

The Queen joins Mick Jagger on list of the nation's powerful Golden Oldies Based on WRVS Power list (see bottom of page to download full report) At first sight, the Queen, Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, and Rolling Stone Sir Mick Jagger do not have a great deal in common.  But at age 85, 70 and 67 respectively all make a newly-published ''gold age power list'' of the country's most influential pensioners. The list aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about older people. It was compiled by the charity WRVS (please see the full list attached), which said the country's ageing population is too often seen as a ''looming disaster''.

British brains dominate list of living geniuses By Aislinn Simpson, The Telegraph, 30 October 2007 Britain has more living geniuses per head of population than anywhere else in the world, according to a new survey which reveals the country's influence on science, technology, business and the arts. Almost a quarter of those featured in the list of 100 living geniuses are Britons, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web, in joint first place, and physicist Stephen Hawking at seven in the list. British artists and musicians feature heavily, including Brit Art leader Damien Hirst at number 15, poet Seamus Heaney at 26, playwright Harold Pinter at 31, Sir Paul McCartney at 58, David Bowie at 67, Harry Potter author JK Rowling at 83 and filmmaker Ken Russell at 100. Sir Richard Branson, the head of Virgin Group, at 49, chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall, at 58, and psychologist Dorothy Rowe, at 72, also made the list. With 24 Britons in the list, the country has generated one living genius per 2.5 million people - a higher proportion than any other country. The list, compiled by a panel of six experts in creativity and innovation, is jointly topped by…

Daily Telegraph, 23 November 2007 Moral babies or born to be wild? A new study suggests that babies can differentiate between good and bad behaviour from as early as six months. Psychologist Dorothy Rowe disputes claims that humans are born with an innate morality.Babies are born with one thing: an instinct to survive Babies are born helpless. Their survival depends on other people. Babies can make their distress known to others, but those people won't necessarily respond in the way the baby needs. To survive, babies need to be able to assess whether an adult will be helpful or not. So do toddlers, for whom being able to read feelings is essential. My own mother had an erratic, explosive, dangerous temper which she usually vented on me; my survival depended on being able to read her danger signs. For the Yale experiment, six- and 10-month-old babies were made to watch two colourful wooden toys either help or hinder another who was trying to climb a steep hill. After the baby viewed the characters, they were invited to pick one. The babies showed a strong preference for the toy that helped rather than hindered, proving, according to the Yale scientists, that babies…