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 (contrasted with disassortative mating).

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Etymology

Origin of assortative mating

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

But without accounting for cross-trait assortative mating, using genetic correlation estimates to study the biological pathways causing disease can be misleading.

From Salon • Dec. 12, 2022

One common form of mate choice, called assortative mating, is an individual’s preference to mate with partners who are phenotypically similar to themselves.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Men and women tend to consort with and marry others who are of similar characteristics, what psychologists call assortative mating.

From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2019

The theory of assortative mating holds that we are ever more averse to partners unlike ourselves.

From The Guardian • May 11, 2018

There is thus assortative mating for height, but it is far from perfect.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul