The Six Cultures Study of Socialization (SCSS), launched in the middle of the 20th century, was an unprecedented cross-cultural project of field research on child rearing and development in diverse settings. Nothing quite so ambitious has been attempted since then-more than 50 years on-so the SCSS deserves scholars’ attention as an historical landmark that inspired future work and exemplifies the possibilities and problems of comparative research on child development. This article is not a full intellectual history of the project, which would be based on primary documents and a cross-validated oral history, but the reflections of one participant who has remained in this field. The author’s focus is on the roots of the SCSS, the project as it was actually carried out and as it changed after the field work was completed, and its implications for future research.
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