Brooke is a ph. d. candidate in the field of nanophysics. she is aware that only 4 percent of physics professionals are women. many assume this is due to women having an inability to comprehend complex mathematics. knowing this, brooke actually scores below her male counterparts on exams, thus affirming the idea that women have difficulty with physics. brooke is experiencing:

The correct answer is stereotype threat.
A stereotype threat is a psychological term referring to the situational predicament of being afraid to conform to stereotypes regarding a social group. Brooke is aware of the stereotype that women have difficulty with complex physics and mathematics and she is afraid of proving this to be right. Her fear blocks her to reach the maximum of her abilities and she ends up scoring below her male coworkers.