Final answer:
Psychologists and scientists refer to the 'range of reaction' to explain how different genotypes can result in a spectrum of outcomes based on environmental factors. This theory encapsulates the gene-environment interaction, where genetic potential and environmental experiences shape an individual's development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Because different genotypes react differently to environmental factors, psychologists and other scientists speak of the range of reaction to develop in a particular way. The range of reaction is the concept that suggests our genetic potential is a fixed quantity, but whether we reach that potential depends on our environmental experiences.
Gene-environment interactions highlight that while our genes provide a certain potential, our environment plays a critical role in influencing how much of that potential is expressed. This interaction is a key focus in fields like psychology, where researchers seek to understand the influence of biology on behavior and vice versa. Factors such as childhood stimulation, trauma, and other life experiences can significantly affect the manifestation of genotypes into actual behaviors or traits, a dynamic interaction studied in epigenetics.