AbstractMother and infant squirrel monkeys that were previously housed together in either a social or restricted environment were given the opportunity to select each other, an unfamiliar female, an unfamiliar infant, or an empty cage, in a free‐choice situation. The time spent with the different choices was used as an index of the animal's preference. Five of the six socially reared infants clearly preferred their mother to the other choices, whereas only one (the youngest) of the six infants reared alone with its mother showed a preference for her. Most of the mothers in both groups did not show any preference among the four choices, although two mothers from the social group and two from the restricted group did spend considerably more time with their own infant. The differences between the two groups of infants is discussed in terms of differences in the environmental characteristics and mother‐infant relationship of the two rearing environme