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

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

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

As regards "assortative mating" as it is termed by Pearson,—the tendency to parity or to disparity between husbands and wives,—the result were in both cases decisive.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 4 Sexual Selection In Man by Ellis, Havelock