Abstract: The ability to recognize and decipher social interaction of others from a third-person perspective is critical for our daily life. There are two cognitive characteristics accounting for the processing of social interaction: configural integrity and action contingency. A hierarchical neural basis underpins social interaction processing in which the person perception network, the action observation network and the mentalizing network are concurrently engaged, wherein the posterior superior temporal sulcus plays a crucial role. Future research needs to explore the heredity of social interaction, to elucidate its underlying cognitive and neural mechanism by combining various technological methods, and to focus on its application in real life.

Key words: social interaction, third-person perspective, configural processing, action contingency, brain mechanism