Prejudice is the unsubstantiated prejudgement of an individual or group, favourable or unfavourable in character, tending to action in a consonant direction. Even favourable prejudices should be discouraged since they too represent unwarranted generalizations, mostly of an irrational nature. Although prejudice may apply to objects as disparate as trade-union leaders, women, or exotic foods, in practice it has been considered as dealing primarily with populations or ethnic groups distinguished by the possession of specific inherited physical characteristics (race or sex), or by differences in language, religion, culture, national origin, or any combination of these.