Integration: An Agenda for Developmental Research

In their magnum opus, Lakoff and Johnson (1999) argued for a philosophy in the flesh. The research presented in the Monograph describes psychology in the flesh. There are ways to measure the changing constellations of interacting systems that influence and transform one another during development and many models to conceptualize the resulting patterns (Flavell, 1972). Development may consist of changing patterns of transactions among internal and external systems (Oyama, 1999). As Bloom and Tinker note, "Development leads to a variety of different abilities.... However, another developmental task not ordinarily considered is the integration of these abilities ... in a seamless pattern of contingency in everyday events." Development consists of more than acquisition; it consists of changing patterns of integration, and changing patterns of use of multifaceted abilities.