Biomaterial Database

Assortative mating without assortative preference. 2015

Yu Xie, and Siwei Cheng, and Xiang Zhou

Institute for Social Research and Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104; and Center for Social Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China yuxie@umich.edu.

Assortative mating--marriage of a man and a woman with similar social characteristics--is a commonly observed phenomenon. In the existing literature in both sociology and economics, this phenomenon has mainly been attributed to individuals' conscious preferences for assortative mating. In this paper, we show that patterns of assortative mating may arise from another structural source even if individuals do not have assortative preferences or possess complementary attributes: dynamic processes of marriages in a closed system. For a given cohort of youth in a finite population, as the percentage of married persons increases, unmarried persons who newly enter marriage are systematically different from those who married earlier, giving rise to the phenomenon of assortative mating. We use microsimulation methods to illustrate this dynamic process, using first the conventional deterministic Gale-Shapley model, then a probabilistic Gale-Shapley model, and then two versions of the encounter mating model.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008393	Marriage	The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby individuals are joined together.	Marital Relationship,Arranged Marriage,Commonlaw Marriage,Consensual Union,Consummation of Marriage,Dowry,Husband-Wife Comparisons,Intermarriage,Marriage Age,Marriage Duration,Marriage Patterns,Marriage Postponement,Mate Selection,Multiple Marriages,Nuptiality,Polygamy,Polygyny,Remarriage,Same-Sex Marriage,Age, Marriage,Ages, Marriage,Arranged Marriages,Commonlaw Marriages,Comparison, Husband-Wife,Comparisons, Husband-Wife,Consensual Unions,Dowries,Duration, Marriage,Husband Wife Comparisons,Husband-Wife Comparison,Intermarriages,Marital Relationships,Marriage Ages,Marriage Consummation,Marriage Consummations,Marriage Pattern,Marriage Postponements,Marriage, Arranged,Marriage, Commonlaw,Marriage, Same-Sex,Marriages,Marriages, Arranged,Marriages, Commonlaw,Marriages, Multiple,Marriages, Same-Sex,Mate Selections,Postponement, Marriage,Postponements, Marriage,Relationship, Marital,Relationships, Marital,Remarriages,Same Sex Marriage,Same-Sex Marriages,Selection, Mate,Selections, Mate,Union, Consensual,Unions, Consensual
D002755	Choice Behavior	The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.	Approach Behavior,Approach Behaviors,Behavior, Approach,Behavior, Choice,Behaviors, Approach,Behaviors, Choice,Choice Behaviors
D003198	Computer Simulation	Computer-based representation of physical systems and phenomena such as chemical processes.	Computational Modeling,Computational Modelling,Computer Models,In silico Modeling,In silico Models,In silico Simulation,Models, Computer,Computerized Models,Computer Model,Computer Simulations,Computerized Model,In silico Model,Model, Computer,Model, Computerized,Model, In silico,Modeling, Computational,Modeling, In silico,Modelling, Computational,Simulation, Computer,Simulation, In silico,Simulations, Computer
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012919	Social Behavior	Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual or group usually of the same species.	Sociality,Behavior, Social,Behaviors, Social,Social Behaviors
D013997	Time Factors	Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.	Time Series,Factor, Time,Time Factor
D015233	Models, Statistical	Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.	Probabilistic Models,Statistical Models,Two-Parameter Models,Model, Statistical,Models, Binomial,Models, Polynomial,Statistical Model,Binomial Model,Binomial Models,Model, Binomial,Model, Polynomial,Model, Probabilistic,Model, Two-Parameter,Models, Probabilistic,Models, Two-Parameter,Polynomial Model,Polynomial Models,Probabilistic Model,Two Parameter Models,Two-Parameter Model
D018454	Spouses	Married persons, i.e., husbands and wives, or partners. Domestic partners, or spousal equivalents, are two adults who have chosen to share their lives in an intimate and committed relationship, reside together, and share a mutual obligation of support for the basic necessities of life.	Domestic Partners,Husbands,Married Persons,Wives,Spousal Notification,Spouse,Wife,Domestic Partner,Husband,Married Person,Notification, Spousal,Partner, Domestic,Partners, Domestic,Person, Married,Persons, Married