Assortative mating for human height: A meta-analysis.

Gert Stulp,Sara Grasman,Mirre J P Simons,Thomas V Pollet

doi:10.1002/ajhb.22917

Abstract

ObjectivesThe study of assortative mating for height has a rich history in human biology. Although the positive correlation between the stature of spouses has often been noted in western populations, recent papers suggest that mating patterns for stature are not universal. The objective of this paper was to review the published evidence to examine the strength of and universality in assortative mating for height.MethodsWe conducted an extensive literature review and meta‐analysis. We started with published reviews but also searched through secondary databases. Our search led to 154 correlations of height between partners. We classified the populations as western and non‐western based on geography. These correlations were then analyzed via meta‐analytic techniques.Results148 of the correlations for partner heights were positive and the overall analysis indicates moderate positive assortative mating (r = .23). Although assortative mating was slightly stronger in countries that can be described as western compared to non‐western, this difference was not statistically significant. We found no evidence for a change in assortative mating for height over time. There was substantial residual heterogeneity in effect sizes and this heterogeneity was most pronounced in western countries.ConclusionsPositive assortative mating for height exists in human populations, but is modest in magnitude suggesting that height is not a major factor in mate choice. Future research is necessary to understand the underlying causes of the large amount of heterogeneity observed in the degree of assortative mating across human populations, which may stem from a combination of methodological and ecological differences.

Highlights

Francis Galton concluded in 1886, that “men and women of contrasted heights, short and tall or tall and short, married just about as frequently as men and women of similar height, both tall or both short” and that stature is “little entangled with . . . marriage selection” (Galton, 1886, p. 251), suggesting that there is no assortative mating for stature
The collected correlation coefficients were subjected to a mixed-effects meta-analysis, with Fishers Zr as dependent variable (Nakagawa & Cuthill, 2007; which was backtransformed to r for presentation purposes)
Mates tend to resemble one another in a variety of traits, and in humans such positive assortative mating has been widely described for many traits, including age, religiosity, personality, and weight (e.g., Zietsch et al, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Francis Galton concluded in 1886, that “men and women of contrasted heights, short and tall or tall and short, married just about as frequently as men and women of similar height, both tall or both short” and that stature is “little entangled with . . . marriage selection” (Galton, 1886, p. 251), suggesting that there is no assortative mating for stature. 251), suggesting that there is no assortative mating for stature. That mates do not resemble one another in terms of their heights may have been premature, because of the “possibility of the records of height having been frequently drawn up in a careless fashion,” which according to Pearson in his biography on Galton, may be due to “amateur measuring of stature in women, when high heels and superincumbent chignons were in vogue” Galton’s work on height and heredity laid the foundation for future statistical concepts, but even today the question remains whether assortative mating for stature occurs in all human populations, and if so, to what extent?

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