Which type of selection reduces phenotypic variance by favoring individuals near the population's mean?

Stabilizing selection is a process that favors the average individuals in a population, thereby reducing the phenotypic variance. This type of natural selection occurs when environmental pressures favor the intermediate traits, leading to a decline in the frequency of extreme phenotypes. For example, in terms of human birth weight, infants of average weight have higher survival rates than those who are very small or very large. As a result, stabilizing selection maintains the status quo of traits within the population by acting against individuals at both extremes, ultimately promoting the traits that are best adapted to the environment while minimizing variation around the mean.