Homogamy is best described as which of the following statements?

• A. Homogamy refers to marrying someone with dissimilar social characteristics.
• B. Homogamy is the practice of selecting partners based primarily on geographic proximity.
• C. Homogamy has little impact on social stratification.
• D. Homogamy describes the tendency to marry someone who shares the same social characteristics.

Answer: (D)

Homogamy describes the tendency to marry someone who shares the same social characteristics, such as education, religion, race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age. This pattern tends to keep similar backgrounds together in family life, which helps maintain and reproduce social boundaries across generations. That’s why this description fits best: it focuses on choosing a partner because of shared social attributes. The other statements miss the mark because marrying someone dissimilar reflects heterogamy, geographic proximity isn’t the defining feature of homogamy, and asserting little impact on social stratification ignores how such marriages often reinforce class and group boundaries over time.