Katie. Katie is a 10-year-old girl who was referred to a social worker by her pediatrician for behavioral problems at home and school. Katie’s parents have been concerned about the increasing behavioral outbursts she has been having in the past year. Katie has had strong temper tantrums throughout her childhood; her parents tended to just try and ignore them. Lately, her temper tantrums have been getting more severe, and ignoring them does not seem to affect them in intensity or frequency. Katie is a fourth-grade student. (She did not pass the third grade due to reading challenges.) Katie has an Individualized Education Plan at her school, where she receives daily reading tutoring and after-school homework help. Katie does not have many friends at school, and her parents suspect she is being bullied by peers. Katie has a friend who lives in her neighborhood, but the friend’s parent no longer wants Katie to come over and play due to a verbal fight she had with her friend two weeks ago. Since then, Katie has been staying home, mostly in her room. Katie does not have any siblings, and the family has a seven-year-old mixed-breed dog named Buttons. Katie’s mother thinks that having a dog is good for Katie, and she likes to play with him. However, there have been two times in the past year that Katie’s parents have observed her being physically abusive toward Buttons. One time, she hit him with a stick after he did not play fetch. Another time, she kicked him when she was walking and he ran in front of her. Katie enjoys playing video games, but she often throws a tantrum when she is told she has to quit. Katie’s father has threatened to take her Xbox away on multiple occasions, but Katie’s mom prevents him from carrying through. Katie’s developmental history is unremarkable, with the exception of reading difficulties. She was walking and talking within developmentally typical time points, and she had no problems noted in developing fine motor skills. Katie’s teachers have reported concerns about Katie’s temper to her parents on multiple occasions. Katie’s mother usually receives a phone call from the teacher with behavioral concerns at least twice a month. Katie has never behaved physically violent toward other people, but she has a tendency to damage property. Katie’s parents recently had to pay for and replace an empty fish tank that she broke after throwing a stapler at it when she was upset. Katie’s parents attended a meeting with her IEP team last week. The principal explained to her parents that her behavior seems to be worsening, and they have growing concerns for her welfare as well as the welfare of school personnel and students.What behaviors is Katie displaying that are developmentally typical?

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Generally, development belongs to the field of psychology, wherein developmental psychologists…