homophily

English

Etymology

homo- +‎ -phily

Noun

homophily (uncountable)

1. (social sciences) The tendency of individuals to associate with others of the same kind.

   Antonym: heterophily

   • 2007, Leo Paul Dana, Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship: A Co-evolutionary View on Resource Management, Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 511:

     In this research we explore whether homophily as an organizing principle affects the performance of immigrant entrepreneurs in Germany.

   • 2009, John M Levine, Michael A. Hogg, Encyclopedia of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 404:

     Homophily is the tendency for there to be higher rates of contact between similar people than between dissimilar people. It is the social process reflected in that old bit of folk wisdom: “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Derived terms

• homophilous

Further reading

• homophily on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “homophily”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.