English

Noun

assortative mating ‎(plural assortative matings)

1. (psychology, genetics) Between males and females of a species, the mutual attraction or selection, for reproductive purposes, of individuals with similar characteristics.
   • 1922, Frank A. Hartman, "The Emergency Function of the Adrenal," Science, New Series, vol. 56, no. 1440, p. 146:

     Underlying all distributions of characters in assortative matings are certain elementary principles based on probabilities and the theory of sampling.

   • 2008 Sep. 20, Sarah Barmak, "Social Science: I like you because you're like me," Toronto Star, p. ID3:

     A recent New York Times Magazine story that investigated the rise of diagnoses of bipolar disorder in children suggested assortative mating as a possible cause, because parents who are both bipolar—and who may marry because they are more likely to understand one another's symptoms—are more likely to have bipolar children.

Synonyms

• assortative pairing
• positive assortative mating

Antonyms

• disassortative mating, negative assortative mating

Translations

See also

• panmixia