Referential integration: An emotional information processing perspective on the process of integration

This article contends that the field of integration needs to examine the processes involved in achieving unified conceptual truths about human nature. A theory of emotional information processing (Bucci, 1997) that incorporates the concept of implicit relational knowledge is used to examine different models of integration, The authors argue that manipulative integration models tend to rely on linear, verbal (symbolic) processing, whereas non-manipulative integration models require linking nonverbal emotional (subsymbolic) processing with linear, verbal (symbolic) processing; a process referred to as referential activity (Bucci, 1997). Moreover, it is argued that this type of emotional information processing inherently links experiential and conceptual forms of integration that have been discussed in the literature. This approach is referred to as "referential integration," which focuses on the processes involved in non-manipulative forms of integration. Referential activity in the process of scientific discovery is used as an example of this approach to integration. The authors conclude with practical impfications for the integrative task.