{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,22]],"date-time":"2025-12-22T18:35:49Z","timestamp":1766428549113,"version":"3.35.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]],"date-time":"2025-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738540800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"General Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China","award":["Project No. 22BJL041"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Project No. 22BJL041"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013071","name":"Major Program of National Fund of Philosophy and Social Science of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Project No. 22&ZD051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Project No. 22&ZD051"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013071","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In contemporary society, students\u2019 cognitive abilities are crucial for the accumulation of human capital. Consequently, significant concern has been expressed regarding the impact of peer effects among friends on students\u2019 cognitive abilities. Based on the \"China Education Tracking Survey\" data, we discuss peer effects among friends on students\u2019 cognitive abilities from the perspective of Emotional Distance Analysis. Our study shows that: (1) Students\u2019 average scores could be actively affected by the increase in the number of friends with good grades. (2) Peer effects among friends are in accord with different students. Such effects are more easily exerted among female students and those with better average grades or local household registration. (3) The mechanism study found that the conduction effect of peer effects among friends mainly relies on two paths. One is manifested as the \u201ccompliance effect\u201d. In other words, to align with their friends, students increase their study time, raise their educational aspirations, and minimize instances of skipping classes and absenteeism. The other channel is the \u201canchoring effect,\u201d which involves raising parents\u2019 reference standards, leading them to devote more time and energy to their children\u2019s learning. Therefore, the rational use of social interaction with friends is a vital approach to enhancing students\u2019 cognitive abilities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0312190","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]],"date-time":"2025-02-03T18:25:37Z","timestamp":1738607137000},"page":"e0312190","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Peer effects among friends on students\u2019 cognitive abilities: An analysis based on emotional distance"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Wenyi","family":"Zhou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Junming","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-8435-5244","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jinsong","family":"Kuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yongqing","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8735-3332","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dag 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