Final answer:
Maria experienced stereotype threat, which is the risk of conforming to negative social stereotypes, leading to her poor math test performance. This illustrates how social perceptions can impact outcomes and highlights the importance of addressing such stereotypes in educational settings.
Step-by-step explanation:
The scenario described with Maria is an example of stereotype threat. Stereotype threat occurs when individuals feel at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group. In Maria's case, she experienced anxiety due to the negative stereotype that suggests women are not as competent in math as men, which led to her poor performance on the math test. This phenomenon demonstrates how social perceptions and expectations can negatively influence outcomes, even if the individual has the capability to perform well.
Lurking variables in the context of observed differences in test scores between genders, such as social encouragement and course selections, provide alternative explanations beyond genetic factors. In Maria's situation, if she had been encouraged in mathematics like her male counterparts or if societal expectations had been different, her performance could have potentially improved.
In the realm of education, understanding the impact of stereotype threat is critical as it has real consequences for students like Maria by potentially limiting their academic opportunities based on unfounded biases rather than true capability.