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).

---

Etymology

Origin of assortative mating

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

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

Reeves and Venator suggest that a big part of the story is the rise of positive assortative mating, the phenomenon in which people with similar levels of education marry each other.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2014

Proof of this hypothesis has not yet been furnished, but it may very well account for some part of the assortative mating which is so nearly universal.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul