Suppose that Madison has just begun dating Wayne. While at his house, she notices some family photos on the coffee table. She notices that-even though Wayne himself is not overweight-every other member of his family is clearly obese. Somehow, this makes Wayne seem less attractive to Madison. Madison's attitude illustrates ____. ​

A) prejudice contagion
B) stigma by association
C) the discontinuity effect
D) the social context bias

Madison's attitude illustrates "stigma by association," which occurs when negative perceptions or stigma towards a group of people affect someone closely associated with them, even if that individual does not possess the stigmatized traits themselves. In this case, Madison perceives Wayne as less attractive because his family members are obese, applying the stigma associated with obesity to Wayne by his association with his family.