1. Level 1 Shared Attention and Regulation Develops between birth to three months Organize sights, sounds, and sensations of the world Ability to share attention with another person Expand from co-regulation to self- regulation

2. Level 2 Engagement and Relating Develops between 4 and 5 months Forming attachments and engaging in relationships with warmth, trust, and intimacy – later staying related across a full range of emotions Falling in love  Displays a wide range of emotions with significant others including “the gleam in the eye!”

3. Level 3 Purposeful Emotional Interaction (Two-Way Communication) Develops between 4 and 10 months Opening (initiating) and closing (responding) circles of communication  Starts with smiles and gestures  Reciprocal back & forth emotional signaling and continuous flow develop  Expresses desires and needs Motor competency (including gestural system) develops and intentionality emerges

4. Level 4 Shared Social Problem Solving Develops between 9 and 18 months Uses motor planning to solve problems within the context of social interactions  Expands number and complexity of circles of communication  Displays persistent and sustained social interactions for longer periods of time Develops sense of self, self-esteem and independence

5. Level 5 Creating (Emotional) Ideas Develops between 18 and 36 months Represent or symbolize her intentions, feelings, and ideas in imaginative play and/or language using gestures, words, and symbols  Replicates real life through pretend play of at least one idea (scheme)  Engages in interactive pretend play with caregivers and/or peers

6. Level 6 Logical Thinking Begins to develop at 3 years of age Makes logical connections between meaningful ideas Combines ideas together to tell a story that becomes increasing logical and realistic Develops ability to distinguish reality and fantasy and to make distinctions of time and space Ability to express feelings instead of acting on them; impulse control  Gives reasons behind feelings  Recreates emotional ideas in play

7. Level 7 Multi-Causal and Comparative Thinking Develops between 4 and 6 years Explores multiple motives, opinions and compares and contrasts ideas Considers how he would feel in another person’s shoes Predicts what others will do based on their “affect cues”  Gives reasons for other people’s actions

8. Level 8 Relativistic or Gray-Area Thinking Develops between 6 and 10 years Distinguishes varying degrees of different feelings for situations or activities  No longer thinks only in “black” and “white”  Considers different possibilities and contingencies Expresses varying degrees of feelings when comparing peer relationships

9. Level 9 Self-Reflection or Thinking Using an Internal Standard Develops after 9 years of age Reflections introspectively on performance, effort, and feelings Questions reasons for feeling a certain way and contrasts that with usual feelings  Enables inferences to be made regarding self and others and creates new choices and ideas Almost always forms and uses her own inner values (i.e., ideas about what’s right & wrong) 8