A _________ can occur if a programmer allows an accessor method to return a reference to an array instance variable.

A) short circuit
B) privacy leak
C) partially filled array
D) syntax error

A privacy leak occurs when a programmer allows direct access to an object's instance variables or return a reference to an object's instance variables. In this case, if an accessor method returns a reference to an array instance variable, the caller of the method can modify the contents of the array directly, which can lead to unintended consequences and can violate the object's encapsulation.