A central feature of the research paradigm, namely the nearly exclusive focus on subjects as passive observers and how this particular vision informs theorizing in this field is discussed along with some of its implications. In advancing a novel model of social cognition, we place the function of a possible mirror neuron system within a general framework ranging from perception to co-action. The proposed social cognition model relies on a unit of analysis that is minimally dyadic. In concluding we draw out some of the implications of the proposed model for research on mirror neurons.