What does it mean that coherence is the goal of integration?

Your collection of schemas should work together without conflict. Coherence is not agreement — it is the absence of unresolved contradiction, where each schema strengthens rather than undermines the others.

Example: You hold a schema that says 'move fast and ship early' and another that says 'quality requires thoroughness.' In isolation, both seem true. But they fire at the same time every sprint planning. You feel tension but can't name it. Integration doesn't mean picking one — it means building a coherent relationship between them: 'Ship early for learning; be thorough for foundations.' Now they cooperate instead of competing, and you can tell which applies in a given context.

Try this: List five schemas you actively use — beliefs, decision rules, heuristics, values. Write each on a separate line. Now draw connections between each pair: does schema A support, contradict, or ignore schema B? Mark every contradiction. For each contradiction, write one sentence that resolves the tension — not by deleting either schema, but by specifying the conditions under which each applies. You are building coherence.