assortative mating

American  

noun

Animal Behavior, Psychology.

1. the reproductive pairing of individuals that have more traits in common than would likely be the case if mating were random (disassortative mating ).

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Etymology

Origin of assortative mating

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

People tend to marry along socioeconomic lines in a practice known as “assortative mating.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Professor Melinda Mills, senior author and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at Oxford Population Health said, 'As well as reinforcing demographic research on assortative mating and other socioeconomic factors linked to childlessness, this paper underscores the necessity for interdisciplinary research and enhanced public health emphasis on addressing early-life diseases among both men and women in relation to childlessness.'

From Science Daily

Cross-trait assortative mating means that the genes you inherit from one parent will be correlated with those you inherit from the other.

From Salon

Cross-trait assortative mating shapes the genome.

From Salon

The genetic links between traits influenced by cross-trait assortative mating were substantially weakened.

From Salon