Actual measurement shows that a man who exceeds the average height by a
given amount will most frequently marry a woman who exceeds the average
by a little more than one-fourth as much as her husband does. There is
thus assortative mating for height, but it is far from perfect. The
actual coefficient given by Karl Pearson is .28. In this case, then, the
idea that "unlikes attract" is found to be the reverse of the truth.
If other traits are measured, assortative mating will again be found.
Whether it be eye color, hair color, general health, intelligence,
longevity, insanity, or congenital deafness, exact measurements show
that a man and his wife, though not related by blood, actually resemble
each other as much as do uncle and niece, or first cousins.
In some cases assortative mating is conscious, as when two congenitally
deaf persons are drawn together by their common affliction and mutual
possession of the sign language. But in the greater number of cases it
is wholly unconscious. Certainly no one would suppose that a man selects
his wife deliberately because her eye color matches his own; much less
would he select her on the basis of resemblance in longevity, which can
not be known until after both are dead.
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