Why would something as apparently innocuous as a defendant's name influence the inferences and decisions of mock jurors in the experiment by Bodenhausen (1988) mentioned in the text?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experiment by Bodenhausen (1988) showed that defendants with stereotypically African American names were more likely to be perceived as guilty compared to defendants with stereotypically Caucasian names. This suggests that negative out-group stereotypes were activated, and they biased information processing. The mock jurors may have relied on these stereotypes rather than the evidence presented in the case.

Why Would Something as Apparently Innocuous as a Defendant's Name