European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 23, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 23, 1985 the stars and stripes age 17 i in tests for infant show smart is you baby by Gayle Young United press International for decades psychologists have looked a babies beguiling smiles and wondered what thoughts perceptions and intelligence la behind them. Now a Hall dozen researchers have independently reported they Are Able to measure is in 6-Monlh-old babies by testing their attention spans. The children s scores at age 6 months closely match their scores on standardized 10 tests taken when they Roach Ages 4 and 5. The new findings bring fresh ammunition to the  debate that has stumped psychologists Lor decades Are people born with a certain degree of intelligence or can intelligence be cultivated Early by dangling mobiles or flashcards Over the crib or playing classical music on the stereo the answer May be both. What we have been Able to determine with some degree of certainty is that babies Are born with an intelligence quotient in possibility Sake Marc h. Bornsten a leading researcher at new York University who has collected and compiled the results of his colleagues. His own studies Are reported in this month s proceedings of the National Academy of sciences. But we also find that to potential is susceptible to change Supre Sod or promoted by experiences during the first Lew years of  he said. Bomstein. Professor of psychology and human development at Nyu said a related study of his shows babies with parents who keep them stimulated score higher on baby in tests than babies who Are stimulated less often. There seems to be a 50 percent variability said Bornsten. About 50 percent of childhood intelligence is present Early in life and 50 percent comes from external influences. Environment seems to be equally Erma Bombeck important to  this counter previously accepted theories that bounced Between the belief babies Are born without an 10 to the Assen tation that to is mandated by genetics in the womb and cannot be changed. The difficulty with proving any theory has always been Iho difficulty in devising a test to measure intelligence in babies said Bornsten. The first baby 10 test was created by University of California at Berkeley researcher Nancy Bayley in the 1950s, who measured infants abilities to grasp crawl and toddle. Her studies showed no correlation Between How her subjects scored As babies and How they scored As adults. But her coordination test did not necessarily measure a baby s ability to reason and absorb knowledge the Standard measurements of intelligence said Bornstein. It was t until the 1960s that a researcher named Robert Fantz looke l at a baby and saw before him an organism similar to animals he had studied Lor years. Starting with Fantz researchers have used tests to measure learning in babies similar to tests used to measure learning in animals said Bornsten. One example of such a test a Green Mobile is Hung Over a baby s crib and a Sash lied to both it and the baby s led foot. When the baby kicks the Mobile moves. After several trials the baby will kick his left loot when to sees the Green Mobile. If he sees a Blue Mobile he will lie still. The baby remembers because he has Learned said Bornsten. His own tests involve sitting a baby before a screen and lashing the same photograph Over and Over. At first the baby looks at the photo with interest. But after several trials with the same old photograph he becomes bored and looks away. What is boredom asks Bornsten. It is learning. The baby has seen the image absorbed it and is ready to go on with something else. Some babies get bored More quickly than others just As some children learn More quickly than  Bornsten tested his subjects again when they reached age 4, old enough to take a standardized intelligence test. There was a Strong correlation Between How the subjects scored As babies and How they scored As children. Researchers All Over the country Are finding this correlation said Hornslein. Who called the correlation  we knew environment was important because Early studies of some institutionalized babies showed they did less Well on to tests later in life than those raised at Home he said. Bornsten said his studies also seem to indicate that How parents interact with their infants can have an effect on How Well the baby scores. A Parent will Check the child and see All is quiet. Then go about their business said Bornstein. The child is possibly learning by absorbing the environment around him but he could be learning More by interacting with a  difficult Baytos who demand constant attention also seem to score higher on the baby in test than babies who Are passive said Bornsten but conclusive data on this is not yet available. This possibility correlates with a study of difficult babies in Ethiopia who were found to survive at twice the rate of passive babies because they were fed More often to keep them quiet he said. This raises an interesting question said Bornsten fiddling with a plastic toy in his baby lab at Nyu s psychology department. Do difficult. Intelligent babies make parents More responsive or Are responsive parents responsible for intelligent babies there is a tremendous amount of play going on Between the two. Babies still have a Tot to Tell us he said. In new York recently i had occasion to watch Abag lady go about her daily ritual of pawing through trash bags at the  was wearing a plaid Blouse a Green sweater a mauve Vest and a Tan coat with a Blue Scarf Over an oversize skirt that stopped an Inch or so Short of a pair of Tennis shoes worn with baggy socks. I gasped. With the exception of the Blue Scarf and plaid Blouse we were dressed alike. It s hard to admit that style Wise bag ladles were 20 years ahead of their time. It someone had told me that i would be walking around Manhattan in a pair of gym shoes wearing a skirt with More wrinkles than my grandmother i would have laughed myself to death. Like the bag ladies women of the world have finally succumbed to Comfort. Each year i expect the Nobel committee to Honor the person or persons responsible Lor the elastic Waistband. I have the first one Ever made and have no curios Ity whatsoever As to what is growing underneath it. My Dolman arms have finally found a Home in those wonderful sleeves that Start at the Waist fan out and never touch skin until they reach my wrists. And the jackets that Cascade Over my Lanny and Stop at the Back of my Knees could be used for a circus tent. They re wonderful. I m a convert to Comfort in clothes. I used to think if there was no pain there was no reason to get dressed up. Now i publicly apologize to Woody Allen for think ing he was nuts when he wore Tennis shoes with his Tuxedo to the Kennedy Center and i publicly applaud cybill Shepherd for wearing gym shoes with her Stra Pless gown to the emmy award ceremony. These Are the Golden years of fashion and it s time someone thanked the Industry. Thanks for the shoulder pads that eliminate every Trace of my neck so that my head looks like it s being served on a Platter. The neck was going anyway thanks Tor the sweaters that Slipcover my entire body and Stop just about the knee. Thanks for cummerbund waistbands that can fall anywhere there is a Groove Lor them to Hook themselves into. The bag ladles of the 1980s Are the women of the hour. Their casual mix of design and fabric have been copied and reproduced by the Best designers in Cou Ture houses in Europe and America. If there was an ounce of integrity for recognizing originality rightfully they should be on the covers of Vogue. Harper s Bazaar and women s Wear daily. The style May Only be in Lor 15 minutes but for one Brief moment for those of us with hips thighs and Knees that Blouse it has been a visit to Camelot. As i rounded the Windy Corner in new York i stopped and went Back for another look at the bag lady. Her hair was pure Pink standing straight up in combed unstructured and unbelievable. I wanted to ask where she had it done. C lot Anattol time Syndicate